An Adventure of Flavor Awaits You!

Continuing our special movie promotions with Fox Pictures Mexico, USA Pears has an Epic promotion going on in Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey this month.  Similar to our previous promotions, there will be a special pear display in the produce department where shoppers can sample ripe, delicious Green Anjou pears, pose for photos with props in front of the movie poster, and enter to win prizes.  Head over to the Peras USA Facebook page to see some of the great pics of adults and kids alike! In Spanish, the movie’s title is El Reino Secreto, or “The Secret Kingdom.” Check out the trailer below, and you can see it in theaters when the movie opens in the U.S. on May 24! Facebook Twitter Google+ Pinterest LinkedIn

Kids + Pears

Prepare for cuteness: photos of little kids and pears!  Photo contests are always fun to see how people get creative.  This year in St. Petersburg, Russia, we held a contest with a parenting website, asking moms and dads to show us how their kiddos enjoy USA Pears.  Some shots were candid, while others were posed, but all results were adorable! As proven by these shots, kids and pears go great together, and we’ve got kid friendly recipes, nutrition information, and our brand new Pear World kids’ website for you to explore with your little ones! Facebook Twitter Google+ Pinterest LinkedIn

Year of the Snake

Chinese New Year is upon us once again, and the Year of the Snake is sure to be extra-exciting for USA Pears – which, for the first time, will be available in China! We’re very excited to introduce USA Pears in Chinese supermarkets. The first Green and Red Anjou pears are currently on a ship en route over the Pacific. To celebrate the holiday – which takes place on February 10 this year – in China as well as other Southeast Asian countries like Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Hong Kong, we’re setting up special pear displays in the produce section. Shoppers can receive USA Pear festive gift boxes and red envelopes to symbolize good luck and prosperity for the New Year. Red Anjou is particularly popular in Asia thanks to its unique and auspicious color.  So this variety is a great choice for Continue reading

Pear-fectly Packaged

The shelves of the produce departments are changing, and so is how we buy fruits and veggies. While many are looking for less packaging to reduce waste, others want convenience: pre-washed, pre-cut, ready-to-go.  For me, the decision depends on each individual item, how many people I need to feed, and how long the shelf life needs to be! This season in New Zealand, pear sales increased thanks to new packaging. In this case, the design attracted attention and also gives us the opportunity to teach shoppers about how to tell when a pear is ripe (Check the Neck – but if you’re a frequent reader here at The Pear Dish, you already knew that, right?) and share a recipe. Pear, Parmesan & Watercress Salad 4 Anjou Pears 100 g (3.5 oz) watercress 60 g (2 oz) parmesan 2 lemons 100 Continue reading

Pear Buddies Around the World: Taiwan

Perry and Anjoulina recently accompanied me on a visit to Taipei, Taiwan. In between meetings and market visits, we stopped briefly at a traditional Chinese tea house and had time for a photo op at Taipei 101 – an impressive sight as the world’s third tallest skyscraper. Even though Taiwan shoppers are more used to the more crunchy Asian pear varieties, it is still an important market for red skinned pears, as red is an auspicious color in Taiwanese culture. The vibrant Starkrimson and maroon Red Anjou are unique, sweet treats in a country full of what we in the U.S. consider to be exotic fruits! In addition to supermarkets, there are many fruit shops and vendors where fresh fruits are found. We also visited the wholesale market in Taipei, where the owners choose the fruits to sell in their Continue reading

First Taste of Fall!

Summer has flown by, and while I never want to wish it away, I LOVE the fall.  For me, the first sign that it’s on the way is the beginning of the USA Pear harvest. Among the first of the season: this Green Bartlett that showed up at the office yesterday.  I can’t wait for it to ripen up – it’s the only major variety that will noticeably change skin color from green to yellow as it ripens.  But of course, my go-to test for ripeness for any variety is to Check the Neck! These delicious little beauties are en route to Moscow, Russia, for sampling.  But they’ll start popping up soon in your local grocery stores, if they haven’t already, along with Red Bartletts and Starkrimson.  These early season varieties are at center stage now – while the Anjou, Bosc, and others Continue reading

Don’t forget your pears!

We’re cleaning house around here, and this “vintage” poster from Mexico that I came across is a great reminder: don’t forget your pears!  The produce department at this time of year is full of summer fruits like peaches, cherries, and berries.  But you can still enjoy sweet, juicy USA Green Anjou pears, too – great things go great together!  Nothing says summer like a simple fruit salad: my personal favorite combination is Green Anjou Pears, bananas, grapes, white peaches, and raspberries.  Yum! Facebook Twitter Google+ Pinterest LinkedIn

Inside the Orchards: Blossoms 2012

I always enjoy a trip to the growing regions to visit the USA Pear orchards.  I love seeing how the trees change over the course of the year, and the differences in each season from the year before.  During harvest, the trees are heavy with fruit, and autumn is a beautiful season here in the Pacific Northwest – temperatures start to cool after the heat of summer, and skies are clear. Spring time, however, can be very hit-or-miss.  So when a sunny day comes around, we must take advantage of it!  Unlike this time last year, these gorgeous blossoms were in full bloom.  So while we are still enjoying Green Anjou, Red Anjou, and Bosc, it’s hard to believe that in a few short months, these trees will be full of next season’s crop! Facebook Twitter Google+ Pinterest LinkedIn

Pears on Display

Our recent supermarket display contest in Central America had some great entries, but this one was particularly eye-catching. It’s clean and well organized, draws attention from shoppers, and features more than one variety: Green Anjou, Red Anjou, and Bosc.  While I can’t say that their version of a pear tree is a truly accurate portrayal of our USA Pear trees here in the Pacific Northwest, the display is impressive and fun, and it’s obvious that the produce department staff put a lot of creativity and enthusiasm into building  it! Facebook Twitter Google+ Pinterest LinkedIn