Give Your Pizza A Gourmet Twist With A Surprising Canned Fruit

If you're looking for a fresh set of pizza toppings, look no further than the canned fruit section of the supermarket — and don't worry, the idea isn't to commit a crime against Italians by putting pineapple on there. Instead, grab a can of pears.

So, despite Italians' well-documented distaste for Hawaiian pizza (which is actually a Canadian creation), this doesn't mean all fruit on pizza is frowned upon. Figs also make a great topping. In the case of pears, they usually appear on pizzas with a white base (that is, no tomato sauce and often a white cheese like mozzarella, perhaps with garlic and olive oil instead).

A few ingredients pair well with pears — relatively pungent cheeses like gorgonzola (or other blue cheeses) work a treat, similarly, goat cheese is a worthy pairing. Another option is a salty, fatty charcuterie cut like prosciutto. Between the umami cheese or salty meat, both provide a neat contrast to pears' soft sweetness. Nuts like walnuts are also a common idea, providing crunchy variety in terms of texture, or thyme for a herbal note.

Recipes for pear-topped pizzas do tend to recommend using fresh sliced pears, but there are certain benefits to canned pears. For one, they have no skin — not that fruit skin is inherently bad, but some pears can have a waxy taste. Plus, white pizzas tend to be a bit drier due to the absence of a juicy tomato base. Since canned pears tend to soak in juice or syrup, they add in some moisture (olive oil also add this in some white pizza recipes).

You'll want to drain and slice your canned pears; unsliced hunks might add a little too much sweetness in one bite. You could also marinate those slices: Hot sauce could add some extra kick, or maple syrup adds extra dimension to the sweet flavors. But this isn't absolutely necessary: You can just place the sliced pears straight onto the pizza before baking.

Unless you're a sweet tooth, it might be wise to go for pears that are canned in juice rather than syrup since this isn't a dessert pizza. If you're using a recipe that calls for honey (honey, gorgonzola, pear, and walnut is a common combination), you could even reserve some of the juice or syrup to sprinkle on top in place of some or all of the honey.