Poached Pears
- Joe S.
- Dec 17, 2020
- 3 min read
Poached pears in sweet red wine reduction with aromatics and spices. A classic Holiday treat!
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: approximately 60 minutes
Inactive time: 2 to 24 hours
Yields 4 to 6 servings
Gluten/Soy/Dairy Free
This is a delicious and easy to make dessert that will truly impress everyone! It looks luxurious, decadent, and complex. It will make people think you are a culinary powerhouse to be reckoned with and leave them all satisfied.
The combination of fresh fruit, sweet red wine, spices and aromatics makes this a very delicate yet impactful experience. And above all...it brings all the flavors and scents of the Holidays to the dinner table.
What is the flavor profile?
Robust, sweet, floral, aromatic, and fruity with citrus notes.
What ingredients will I need?
Four to six firm pears, sweet red wine or Burgundy wine, sugar, star anise, whole cloves, cinnamon sticks, and orange juice.
What else will I need to make this?
A saucepan, a vegetable peeler, measuring cups, and a wooden spoon or non-reactive spoon.
What is Star Anise?
A spice commonly called star anise, staranise, star anise seed, star aniseed, Chinese star anise, or badian that closely resembles anise in flavor is obtained from the star-shaped pericarps of the fruit of I. verum which are harvested just before ripening.
Star anise oil is a highly fragrant oil used in cooking, perfumery, soaps, toothpastes, mouthwashes, and skin creams. About 90% of the world's star anise crop is used for extraction of shikimic acid, a chemical intermediate used in the synthesis of oseltamivir (Tamiflu).
What are Cloves?
Cloves are the aromatic flowerbuds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, Syzygium aromaticum. They are native to the Maluku Islands (or Moluccas) in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice. Cloves are available throughout the year owing to different harvest seasons in different countries.
What is Cinnamon?
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus Cinnamomum. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakfast cereals, snackfoods, tea and traditional foods. The aroma and flavour of cinnamon derive from its essential oil and principal component, cinnamaldehyde, as well as numerous other constituents including eugenol.
Cinnamon is the name for several species of trees and the commercial spice products that some of them produce. All are members of the genus Cinnamomum in the family Lauraceae. Only a few Cinnamomum species are grown commercially for spice. Cinnamomum verum is sometimes considered to be "true cinnamon", but most cinnamon in international commerce is derived from the related species Cinnamomum cassia, also referred to as "cassia". In 2018, Indonesia and China produced 70% of the world's supply of cinnamon, Indonesia producing nearly 40% and China 30%.
Ingredients
4 to 6 pears, peeled
6 cups of sweet red wine or Burgundy wine
1/4 cup of sugar
3 star anise
8 whole cloves
1 stick of cinnamon
1/4 cup of freshly squeezed orange juice
Method
Add the wine, sugar, star anise, cloves, cinnamon, and orange juice to a saucepan. Mix well. Bring to a boil and then reduce temperature to low and simmer.
To create a flat surface for the pears to stand upright, cut the bottom of each pear. Place the peeled pears standing upright in the center. Make sure the liquid almost fully covers the pears.
Simmer at least for 45 to 60 minutes. The longer you simmer the pears the darker they will get and more flavor will develop.
Once the time has elapsed, remove from heat and allow the pears to cool down before serving.
Serve cold with some of the beautiful red wine reduction.
Enjoy!!!
Printable Recipe (PDF) below:
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