What were the peiros Genosar?

Question

In Brachos 44a there is a brief discussion of an apparently extraordinary type of fruit they call the peiros Genosar. The sages seemed to love it even though there were consequences after eating too much. For example, Reish Lakish ate so much that he became confused and needed assistance getting home. Others suffered hair loss and other issues from eating large quantities of the fruit. What kind of fruit was this? Why did the sages love it so much? What else do we know about it?

Answer 1

Rashi in Berachos (44a) identifies the fruit as

פירות ארץ ים כנרת חשובים מן הפת - The fruits of the location of the Yam Kineret which were more noteworthy than bread.

Apparently, the fruits in this region are particularly tasty.

Answer 2

Rashi in Eruvin 30a says that Genosar was the land around the Kineret, and the fruit that grew there was very sweet.

גינוסר : ארץ ים כינרת ופירותיה מתוקין: ‏

The Bartenura on Mishna 3:7 in Maaseroth says that the translation of Kineret (the sea of Galilee) is Genosar, and it's a location in the Galilee with an abundance of good fruit.

סכת גינוסר - ים כנרת מתרגמינן גינוסר, והוא מקום בארץ הגליל שפירותיו מרובים וטובים, ויושביו עושים סכות ודרים שם כל זמן הפירות: ‏

Rashi in Pesachim 44a references the Gemara you quoted, saying the fruit are very sweet and that Kineret is an area in Eretz Yisrael.

פירות גינוסר: מתוקין מאד כדאמרי' בברכות (דף מד.) והיינו כינרת שם מדינה בארץ ישראל: ‏

It would seem that פֵּרוֹת גִּנּוֹסָר was not a particular fruit but rather fruit from a certain area.

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For a completely different (Aggadic) interpretation of פֵּרוֹת גִּנּוֹסָר you could try to figure out this blog entry⁽¹⁾. I couldn't follow it fully, but it sounded fascinating.

^{(1) Found by accident while Googling Genosar}