• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
The Redhead Baker logo
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • About Me
  • Contact
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • About Me
  • Contact
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Desserts and Sweets

    Poached Pears

    Published: Mar 14, 2012 · Modified: Jan 16, 2013 by Coleen · This post may contain affiliate links.

    The Mister is trying to lose weight. I have a sweet tooth, particularly for desserts of the chocolate and high-fat variety. I felt really bad eating chocolate ice cream with an almost equal amount of whipped cream on top while he ate an apple, so I decided to make a dish that I haven't made since culinary school: poached pears. 

    Poached fruit is versatile dessert. It can be eaten warm, room temp or chilled; on its own, with ice cream, or a slice of cake. Most firm, juicy fruits can be poached. I used white wine below, but you can use red as well, which adds a beautiful jewel tone to the fruit flesh. 

    Pears are a particularly good fruit to poach because their natural flavor is so light, they take on the flavors of the poaching liquid and any added spices very well. Experiment with different spices: whole cloves, star anise, allspice berries.

    The skin of the fruit can be left on (which prevents the fruit from falling apart as it poaches), or it can be peeled off (trying to cut through the peel with just a dessert spoon is a bit difficult). 

    And the aroma this creates should be one of Yankee Candle's next scents! 

    Cinnamon-Vanilla Poached Pears
    Adapted from Alton Brown's recipe on FoodNetwork.com
    Serves 4

    Ingredients

    • 1 (750 mL) bottle Riesling or other dry white wine
    • 1 cup water
    • ¾ cup sugar
    • 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
    • 1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
    • 4 Bosc pears

    Directions

    1. Combine the wine, water, sugar, vanilla bean and pulp, and cinnamon stick in a large sauce  pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. 
    2. Cut a thin slice off the bottom of the pear, and core the pear from the bottom. 
    3. Decrease heat to medium low, and submerge the pears in the liquid. Cover the sauce pot and simmer the pears for 30 minutes, or until fork-tender. 
    4. Remove the pears from the liquid. 
    5. Remove the vanilla bean and the cinnamon stick and discard. Increase heat to high again, and boil the liquid until reduced to approximately 1 cup of syrup (about 20 to 25 minutes). 
    6. Serve the pears and syrup on their own, over vanilla or caramel ice cream, or alongside a slice of your favorite cake, such as gingerbread, pound cake, spice cake, etc. 

    More recipes you may enjoy

    • Recipe Swap: Oatmeal Cookies
    • Food Blogger Cookie Swap: Gingerbread Biscotti
    • Recipe Swap: No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake
    • Sable Cookies

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Popular Posts

    Lemoncello Tiramisu

    A short rib on the bone over mashed potatoes with gravy.

    Instant Pot Red Wine Short Ribs

    Chocolate espresso cookies are rich and fudgy. Espresso powder enriches the flavor of the chocolate and adds coffee flavor, too. #Choctoberfest

    Chocolate Espresso Cookies #Choctoberfest

    Peach butter is smoother and less sweet than peach preserves, resulting in a purer peach flavor. Canning peach butter preserves the flavor all year long. #SundaySupper

    Peach Butter

    Key lime pie parfaits — all the flavor of the pie without the work! This no-bake layered dessert is quick and easy to make. #BrunchWeek TheRedheadBaker.com

    Key Lime Pie Parfaits

    Creme Anglaise

    Irish Oatmeal Bread #StPatricksDay | theredheadbaker.com

    Irish Oatmeal Bread

    Chicken tacos are spiced with ancho chile powder and topped with cilantro slaw and avocado cream. This delicious meal is ready in under 30 minutes!

    Ancho Chicken Tacos with Cilantro Slaw and Avocado Cream

    Contact

    • Email me
    • Media Kit
    • FAQ coming soon!

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Copyright Policy
    • Accessability Policy

    Footer

    Newsletter

    • Sign up for newsletters and updates through email

    Footer

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Copyright Policy
    • Accessibility Policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Media Kit
    • FAQ coming soon!

    As an Amazon Associate I earn a small percentage from qualifying purchases.

    Protected By Pixsy

    The Redhead Baker is a registered trademark.

    Copyright © 2021 Brunch Pro on the Brunch Pro Theme