By Blake Swihart and Kathleen Sanderson, Foodservice Solutions   

Quick, easy, convenient and delicious! What's not to like about USA-grown canned pears? When time is at a premium, you can substitute canned pears in any recipe that calls for lightly poached or cooked pears or other fruit. No peeling, overcooking or browning, no slicing or dicing, just choose a recipe and go. Use the firm yet tender texture of a canned pear to your advantage by letting the pears provide crunch along with sweetness and distinctive pear flavor.

For breakfast, try adding pears to a smoothie for great texture, flavor and slight sweetness. Combine kale, spinach, cucumbers, pears, pear juice or almond milk along with yogurt and a nut butter for a delicious shake. Or, top cooked cereal grains such as quinoa or oatmeal with diced pears, chopped nuts and a touch of yogurt. Spread whole grain toast with almond butter and top with thinly sliced pears and a drizzle of honey for a satisfying wake me up. Wake up to endless possibilities.

In summer salads, the texture of canned pears marries well with grilled or poached chicken, shrimp, fish and pork. Arrange them in layered salads or add them to fruit, nut and grain-based salads. Let the convenience of labor-free canned pears allow you to concentrate your efforts elsewhere - it is summer, after all.

Transform summer desserts by grilling pear halves or slices. Caramelizing the natural sugars in pears heightens and enhances the pear flavor. Top them with a caramel sauce or crème Anglaise, or use them as a base for trifles or Clafoutis. Grilled pears enrich baked crisps and gild scoops of sorbet or gelato. For a simple version of Caramel Pears, we offer this speed scratch recipe: In a skillet, cook butter, brown sugar, a touch of lemon juice and lemon zest and quartered pears. Let the syrup reduce for several minutes until thickened and gooey, and voilà! Stir in some chopped pecans and serve over ice cream for a composed dessert. Or, cover the pears with pie crust or puff pastry, bake until golden, and invert for Pear Tarte Tatin.

All day long, canned pears can make your summer menu planning easier and tastier. For more summer-centric recipes, visit eatcannedpears.com.

Blake Swihart and Kathleen Sanderson are career R&D chefs who help the Pacific Northwest Canned Pear Service and other clients showcase their products to consumers, foodservice operators and ingredient manufacturers. Contact them at blake@foodservicesolutions.biz.

We picked five winning ideas from foodservice professionals who shared how they use canned pears on their Arbor Day menus. Each received a Bartlett pear tree seedling to plant at home or at work.

Jennifer Quinlan, Culinary Arts, Little Flower Children and Family Services of New York, Wading River, NY, shared her signature recipe for Pear and Arugula Pizza: layer arugula, thinly sliced Manchego, sliced canned pears, walnuts and freshly cracked black pepper over a thin pre-made pizza crust or flatbread that's been brushed with olive oil. The pizzas can be baked in a 450°F oven for about 10 minutes or in a covered grill, at medium heat for about 5 minutes.

The Pacific Northwest's vast, fertile valleys are the site of a rich agricultural tradition. Here, long summer days and cool, crisp nights prevail and conditions are ideal for growing Bartlett pears for canning. The Bartlett - the only pear variety that is commercially canned in the United States - thrives in the rich, loamy soil.

When asked what customers should know about USA-grown canned pears, pear growers speak proudly to the fact that their product is 100% pears that will last in the can for two years without losing nutrient value or product quality.

When ordering or buying canned pears, be sure to look on the label for "grown and canned in the USA." From appetizers to desserts, from breakfast to late night snacks, versatile canned pears from the Pacific Northwest are always ripe, always ready.

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