We are so pumped about pears: This fruit is the best-kept secret! From tree to table, it’s the perfect ingredient for fall-inspired cooking. And we’ve got your back with inspiring, easy entertaining ideas for fun celebrations ahead.

Take a bite of a soft, buttery USA Pear and you’ll see why they are the quintessential cool-weather fruit. Their aromatic fragrance, delicate texture and juicy natural sweetness satisfies cravings, boost all kinds of meal creations and offer loads of nutrients. You can slice them up for a salad, add to smoothies and even enjoy them in a cocktail (Pear Collins, anyone?). Check out our whimsical appetizer ideas, including jarcuterie, a fun take on charcuterie from foodie influencer and registered dietitian Jennifer Pallian (@foodess). Perfect for a spooky Halloween night, or a great make-ahead appetizer option for your festive table too!

What’s so great about USA Pears?

• Full of fibre: USA Pears are one of the best fruit sources of fibre, with a medium-size pear providing five grams of fibre, 18% of the recommended daily intake. One great advantage is that it contains prebiotic fibre, which provides food for beneficial probiotic bacteria.  
• A Sweet You Should Eat: There is an important difference between added sugar (as found in soft drinks and candy) and natural sugar found in fruit. By eating whole fruit, natural sugar is paired with important vitamins, minerals, water, and fibre—which play a role in overall health, weight maintenance and may help manage conditions such as type 2 diabetes.
• Antioxidants: Pears provide vitamin C (6 mg or 7% of the daily value per medium-sized pear), which is a dietary antioxidant that helps to reduce free radicals and lipid oxidation in body tissues. Pears also contain flavonoids, an antioxidant linked to good brain health.
• Kitchen quarterbacks: Available year-round at grocery stores, USA Pears are one of the most versatile foods in your kitchen.

3 Steps to a Perfect Pear

1. Pears are harvested when they are mature but not ripe. To ripen a pear at home, leave at room temperature. For extra-fast ripening, store near other fruits like apples or bananas.

2. The best way to check if a pear is ready is to apply gentle pressure to the neck of the pear with your thumb. If it yields to pressure, it’s ready to eat.

3. Store ripened pears in the fridge to delay further ripening and make them last longer.

TIP: To prevent discolouration of pears, toss sliced pears with a little lemon juice or place in a bowl with ½ cup of water and 1 tbsp lemon juice.

Jarcuterie — It’s the new charcuterie!

We asked Canadian top 10 influencer and registered dietitian, @foodess, for an easy no-stress Halloween appetizer, that will inspire families to get in the kitchen. Everyone will love making Baked Mummy-Wrapped Pears with Ham & Cheddar. She offers this cool take on charcuterie: everyone gets their own individual serving in a jar! No mess, no fuss, but high on the fun factor. Remember, the most fun season is already on the way. Young sous-chefs will love helping with yummy holiday appetizer like Pear Wedges Wrapped with Blue Cheese & Prosciutto. With just a few substitutions, holiday jarcuterie can be the star of your entertainment table!

Halloween Jarcuterie

Photo credit: @foodess

 

Ingredients:

☐ 2 Bartlett USA Pears, cored and cut in ½ inch slices

☐ 8 Mummy-Wrapped Pears with Ham (see recipe below)

☐ 16 mini orange peppers

☐ 8 orange cherry tomatoes

☐ 100 grams salami

☐ 1 cup tamari almonds

☐ 1 cup small wheat crackers

☐ 8 ¼ inch-thick slices cheddar cheese

☐ ½ lb steamed asparagus

☐ 8 sprigs fresh thyme

Mummy-Wrapped Pears with Ham

Ingredients:

☐ 2 Bartlett USA Pears, cored and cut in ⅛ inch slices

☐ ½ lb frozen puff pastry, thawed

☐ 8 slices ham

☐ 1 egg beaten with 1 tsp water

☐ 16 candy eyes (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll puff pastry out slightly with a rolling pin. Using a pastry cutter or paring knife, cut into 24 ¼ inch strips.

3. Lay a slice of ham on work surface. On one short edge, lay 3 pear slices in a straight line overlapping slightly. Wrap the pears up in the ham. Wrap 3 puff pastry strips around it, overlapping the layers in a criss-cross fashion to look like a mummy.

4. Brush pastry with egg wash and place on prepared baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes.

5. If using eyes, take mummies out of the oven at 18 minutes, use more egg wash to “glue” the candy eyes onto the pastry, and return to oven to bake 2 minutes more. Let them cool for several minutes to set before you touch them.

TIP: If at any point the pastry becomes warm and difficult to work with, simply pop it in the freezer for a few minutes to back firm up.

To Assemble Jarcuterie: Fill individual jars with wedges of USA Pears, nuts, small cubes or wedges of cheese, deli meats on skewers, sprigs of fresh herbs and colourful veggies. Serves 8.

Holiday Jarcuterie

photo credit: @foodess

Ingredients:

☐ 2 ripe Bosc USA Pears, quartered and cut in ½ inch slices

☐ 2 Pear Wedges Wrapped with Blue Cheese & Prosciutto (see recipe below)

☐ 8 breadsticks

☐ 16 fruit and nut crackers

☐ 300 g brie, cut in small wedges

☐ 2 cups cherry tomatoes

☐ 1 cup toasted pecans

☐ 8 sprigs fresh rosemary

Pear Wedges Wrapped with Blue Cheese & Prosciutto

Ingredients:

☐ 2 ripe Bosc Pear, quartered and cored

☐ ¼ cup blue cheese

☐ 8 thin slices of prosciutto

Method:

1. Fill the core indent of each pear wedge with 1 ½ tsp of blue cheese then wrap with a slice of prosciutto. 

To Assemble Jarcuterie: Fill individual jars with wedges of USA Pears, nuts, small cubes or wedges of cheese, deli meats on skewers, sprigs of fresh herbs and colourful veggies. Serves 8.

For more information, recipes and nutrition facts visit us here!