Red Wine Poached Pears
Try this delicious and easy-to-make recipe for Red Wine Poached Pears. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream for a perfect dessert.
Try this delicious and easy-to-make recipe for Red Wine Poached Pears. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream for a perfect dessert.
- 1 lemon juiced
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- cheesecloth/twine
- 2 strips orange peel (2 inch strips)
- 3 cardamom pods crushed
- 5 whole cloves
- 1 piece of gingerroot (1 inch piece)
- 1 750-ml bottle red wine such as cabernet sauvignon
- 2 cups light brown sugar
- 1 orange juiced
- 4 firm, ripe pears (i like bosc)
- vanilla ice cream for serving (optional)
- Carbohydrate 127.492557040449 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 1.6404074972957 g
- Fiber 5.43964263314339 g
- Protein 1.46218485329722 g
- Saturated Fat 0.419152790759395 g
- Serving Size 1 1 serving (369g)
- Sodium 57.5481073957608 mg
- Sugar 122.052914407306 g
- Trans Fat 0.544473195259765 g
- Calories 635 calories
Step-by-step
- Lay out a piece of cheesecloth and place the orange peel, cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, cloves and gingerroot in the center. Gather the edges and tie securely with twine.
- Combine wine, brown sugar, lemon juice and orange juice in a large pot, sitr well, then add the cheesecloth bundle.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer over low heat.
- Peel the pears, leaving their stems intact and take a small slice off the bottom of each pear so the bottom is flat. I like to cut out the core from the bottom with a paring knife or melon baller, but it's not necessary if you want to skip that step.
- Place pears in the poaching liquid, cover the pot and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until a pear can be easily pierced with a knife. Turn the pears occasionally, so they cook evenly.
- Remove pears, increase the heat to high and reduce the liquid by one half.
- To serve, place each pear on a plate with a scoop of ice cream and a drizzle of the reduced poaching liquid.
- Can be served warm or chilled.
Most cooks drop peeled fruit directly into cold liquid without considering how density affects heat penetration, which results in unevenly softened flesh and a washed-out exterior. When poaching fruit in alcohol and aromatics, success relies on maintaining a gentle simmer that coaxes sugars into the cellular walls without boiling the fruit into mush. Choosing a dry, full-bodied red wine like Cabernet Sauvignon provides robust tannins that balance the heavy concentration of brown sugar.
Scaling and Reduction Mechanics
Multiplying this formula for a larger gathering requires maintaining the correct surface-to-volume ratio in your cooking vessel. Doubling the fruit means using a wider pot rather than a deeper one so that every piece remains submerged in the spiced red wine mixture. If you double the wine and sugar without increasing the pot diameter, the liquid level rises too high, preventing efficient steam venting and slowing down the crucial final reduction phase where the poaching liquid thickens into a glossy syrup.
- If the pears soften before the liquid reduces properly, remove the fruit with a slotted spoon and boil the remaining spiced wine on high heat until it coats the back of a spoon.
- Store leftover poached fruit submerged in its reduced syrup inside an airtight glass container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
- Transform day-old chilled fruit by slicing them over morning oatmeal or folding chopped pieces into vanilla pound cake batter.
