• Canned pineapple taste sweet and tangy upon opening.Pineapple image by elmgrover from Fotolia.com
  
  Canned fruit is a convenient option to fresh fruit, and is ready-to-serve when opened. It is tasty directly from the can, or for use in desserts and salads. Packed at the height of freshness, many kinds of fruit hold their flavor and texture well when canned. Canned fruit presents an easy way to meet daily fruit requirements, with a 1/2 cup generally equaling one serving.
  
  

Pineapple

• Pineapple, first canned for commercial sale by James Drummond Dole in 1903, is a fruit that holds its flavor well when canned. Slices of pineapple are prepared by machines that uniformly core and slice the pineapple. Other forms of canned pineapple include pineapple chunks, tidbits, cubes, spears and crushed pineapple. High in vitamin C, it is also provides thiamin, vitamin B6, magnesium, potassium, manganese and copper. Enjoyable right from the can, you can also use canned pineapple in a number of recipes, including pizza, ice cream sundaes and pineapple upside down cake.
  
  

Peaches

• Most canned peaches are either "clingstone," which have a smooth, firm texture, or "freestone," which are softer and ragged around the edges. Forms of canned peaches include whole, halves, quarters, slices or diced. Packed peaches usually come in light, heavy or extra-heavy syrups or in water. Canned peaches are ideal for using in cakes, pies and cobblers, or in gelatin desserts. They are an excellent source of vitamin A.
  
  

Fruit Cocktail

• Canned fruit cocktail is a mixture of peaches, pears, grapes, pineapple and cherries that originated in the Food Products Laboratory of the University of California in the 1920s, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. The processing procedure includes passing a line of empty cans under hoppers that contain the ingredients, with each fruit added as a separate layer. Fruit cocktail is a common dessert served directly from the can, or used in gelatin molds. It is a good source of vitamin A, vitamin C, copper and manganese.
  
  

Pears

• Canned pear forms include halves, slices or quarters, packed in water, syrup or juice. Bartlett pears are a popular variety of pear for canning. Some canneries, such as Del Monte, harvest the pears early and ripen them under controlled conditions to reduce bruising. Serve canned pears right from the can with cottage cheese or used in dessert recipes, for example. They are low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium, and contain traces of vitamin C, calcium and iron.