Category Archives: USA Pears Contests

Little Pear in the Big Apple

Lynsey By on

While Epicurious Entertained NYC, Anjoulina found a little time for sightseeing in Manhattan. Just in case it’s not obvious, Anjoulina is a Red Anjou pear – recently harvested and fresh at the grocery stores now!  Red Anjou pears are sweet and juicy, and add gorgeous color to any recipe – from salads and desserts to main courses.  Be sure to Check the Neck for Ripeness to get the best eating experience! And speaking of Epicurious – don’t forget to enter our recipe contest!  Visit the contest site to learn all about USA Pears and submit your culinary masterpiece for a chance to win a spa getaway for two to Oregon wine country! Facebook Twitter Google+ Pinterest LinkedIn

Epicurious Entertained

Brittany By on

Last week, I traveled to New York City with my co-workers to represent USA Pears at the second annual Epicurious Entertains NYC event. Let me tell you, Epicurious entertained! Cristie, Lynsey, and I had a great time sampling pears for New York foodies, chefs, and kids. Consumers were able to taste fresh Comice, Bosc, Bartlett, and Starkrimson pears—for some, it was their first time to taste the varieties fresh from the tree! On Friday, we watched legendary chef and cookbook author Madhur Jaffrey create dishes from her brand-new cookbook. She was followed up by Dorie Greenspan, who prepared her favorite recipes from her cookbook, Around My French Table. On Saturday, we partied, danced, and snacked with kids! They sampled fresh pears, took home a ripe Bartlett in their pear packers, and decorated aprons on the roof deck. These kids loved Continue reading →

¡Vive a lo grande con Peras USA!

Lynsey By on

If you haven’t already heard, USA Pears just launched our brand-new, redesigned Spanish language site, www.perasusa.com!  It’s the go-to destination for all of our Spanish-speaking pear lovers, including recipes, variety information, and special promotions. Speaking of special promotions, we’re very excited to be partnering with Fox Pictures for an awesome new contest for shoppers in Mexico.  Marmaduke is a new movie (which opens here in the U.S. on June 4) starring a loveable Great Dane that “Vive lo Grande,” which can translate to “living large” or “live life to the fullest.” Shoppers that purchase 2 kg of USA Pears during the promotion will receive a scratch and win ticket with a chance at a number of prizes, including an iPod Touch, Nano, and Shuffle, as well as Frisbees for families to play with their own dogs at home.  Kids can Continue reading →

Dishing Up Pear Excellence

Brittany By on

On Tuesday, the 2010 Pear Excellence regional finalists traveled to Vancouver, B.C. to prepare their pear dishes for a panel of judges and compete for the national title. Pear peelings flew and chef’s knives flashed as the five culinary students raced to demonstrate their mastery of the pear. In the end, both the judges and the audience agreed: Stephanie Duong’s Spiced Pear Buckwheat Pancakes with Pear Caramel Sauce and Mascarpone Cream were a sweet success! Stephanie took home the national grand prize of $5,000 and the People’s Choice Award—and her school, George Brown College, will receive $1,000. Congratulations, Stephanie! Representing Ontario, Stephanie competed against Kyle Mar, representing British Columbia; Cyril Roach, representing the Maritimes, Adam Cenaiko, from the Prairies region, and Norelle Donahue of Quebec. Hungry for more? Click here to view photos of the winners, read the full press Continue reading →

Holiday Pear Tree, Minus the Partridge

Lynsey By on

In Colombia this year, we challenged shoppers to get creative and use USA Pears in their holiday centerpieces.  We got some really great ideas and had some laughs looking through all the entries! With the pear season in full swing, it’s the perfect time to incorporate USA Pears into your winter and/or holiday décor!  Check out some ideas here, or get creative and come up with your own!  Email me a photo of how you use the green, red and golden USA Pears in your decorating.  Five randomly-selected pear-lovers will win a USA Pears snowglobe!  1st place winner: The runner ups:  And, a few honorable mentions for those that were cute and/or a little bit crazy! Because who can resist Santa-bearded pears, poker-playing pears, and lounging on the beach?   Facebook Twitter Google+ Pinterest LinkedIn

Pack a Pear!

Amy Kweller MS, RD By on

In Colorado, locals have a summer passion for climbing fourteeners, mountains taller than 14,000 feet. In fact, Colorado has more than 50 fourteeners! Over this past weekend, my husband and I thought we would be adventurous and give Mt. Elbert a shot; at 14,433 feet it is the tallest mountain in the Rockies. It was a strenuous climb that took us a total of seven and a half hours, but the summit view was well worth it! One of the necessities of taking on any strenuous activity is fueling the body. When hiking, biking, running, or partaking in any activity for an extended period, the body needs energy from carbohydrates to keep going. Glucose, the primary energy source used by the body, is stored in the liver and muscles and circulates in the blood to continually fuel the tissues. This Continue reading →

Meeting the Gentlemen of Honor Society

Lynsey By on

The USA Pear family and some lucky contest winners (there’s still time for you, too – visit www.usapears.org to enter to win) got to experience the opportunity of a lifetime last week when Honor Society came to Portland to open up for the Jonas Brothers’ world tour.  Soundcheck with one of the hottest bands in the country?  Meet and greet with our favorite new group?  Both bands and an American Idol winner live in concert?  We got to enjoy all of the above. The afternoon began with a short wait in the “VIP” line outside the Rose Garden arena in Portland.  With the necessary bracelets in place, we joined a select group of screaming girls for the Jonas Brothers soundcheck “party.”  The boys sang 3 songs and sounded great – and it was really cool to experience soundcheck – how Continue reading →

PEARing up with Honor Society

Lynsey By on

USA Pears are proud to sponsor Honor Society, an up-and-coming band that is currently touring with the Jonas Brothers and will headline their own “Full Moon Crazy” tour later this summer of 2009. Get to know this band and their music – “Tastes Like PEARadise” is a great place to start, we’re positive that this one is going to go straight to the top of the charts.  If you missed the music video’s YouTube debut, you can check it out here. Honor Society arrived a day early before their Portland, Oregon show, and the fans were given an awesome opportunity to come out to a local Albertsons store to see the band perform an exclusive acoustic show, go shopping with the guys for USA Pears and hang out with Michael, Jason, Alexander and Andrew (new nickname: “Anjou”). The guys came Continue reading →

Tears for Pears: A Recap of Our Student Chef Competition

Jenny By on

Taste.  Texture.  Creativity.  Originality.  Appearance.  Oh and one more very important thing:  Prominent Use of Fresh USA Pears.  These were the criteria our three culinary student finalists were judged on last week as they traveled from their respective citites to Portland to vie for first place in the USA Pears Student Culinary Competition.  After receiving entries from around the country, we narrowed down the entrants to three student rockstars:    Dallas Hinesly from Texas Culinary Acadamy in Austin, Texas, who submitted “Sweet Potato and Pear Gnocchi with Grilled Pork and a Balsamic Pear Glaze”   Nicole Mau from South Seattle Community College in Seattle, Washington, who submitted “Red Anjou Poire Frite”     Andrea Howard from Florida Culinary Institute in West Palm Beach, Florida, who submitted “Pear Risotto & Pear Poached in Red Wine”   Here’s how it went down: In the Continue reading →