Best Poached Pears Recipes

POACHED PEARS IN SPICED RED WINE

Steps:

• Halve the vanilla pod lengthways, scrape out the black seeds and put in a large saucepan with the wine, sugar, cinnamon and thyme. Cut each piece of pod into three long thin strips, add to pan, then lower in the pears.
• Poach the pears, covered, for 20-30 mins, making sure they are covered in the wine. The cooking time will very much depend on the ripeness of your pears - they should be tender all the way through when pierced with a cocktail stick. You can make these up to 2 days ahead and chill.
• Take the pears from the pan, then boil the liquid to reduce it by half so that it's syrupy. Serve each pear with the cooled syrup, a strip of vanilla, a piece of cinnamon and a small thyme sprig.

EASY POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine lemon zest, cinnamon stick, allspice, ground pepper, apple cider, and water.
• Add pears. Cover with waxed paper to prevent discoloring. Bring to a simmer. Cook, turning pears occasionally, until easily pierced with the tip of a paring knife, but not falling apart, about 20 minutes. Remove pears from liquid; transfer to large bowl.
• Raise heat to high; boil cider mixture until reduced to a syrup, about 15 minutes. Discard cinnamon. Pour syrup over pears; refrigerate. To serve, slice off a sliver from the bottom of each pear (so it stands upright). Serve pears with lemon sorbet, if desired.

POACHED PEARS IN HONEY, GINGER AND CINNAMON SYRUP

Steps:

• In a saucepan large enough to hold all the pears, combine the wine, Simple Syrup, cinnamon stick halves, honey, and ginger. Scrape in the seeds from the vanilla bean and add the bean and seeds to the saucepan. Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until the honey has melted. Add the pears and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, turning occasionally, until the pears are tender. Remove the pears from the liquid and allow to cool.
• Continue to simmer the liquid until it thickens and is reduced by half, about 15 to 20 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Remove the cinnamon stick halves and the vanilla bean and discard.
• Place each pear on a small serving plate with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Drizzle with the honey, ginger and cinnamon syrup. Serve immediately.
• In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and water over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the syrup to cool.

SPICED RED WINE-POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• In a 4-quart saucepan, combine wine, sugar, orange juice, zest, cinnamon stick and cloves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. While liquid is simmering, peel pears, leaving stem intact and being careful not to blemish the flesh of the pears. Slice 1/2-inch off the bottom of the pears to create a flat bottom. Gently place pears in poaching liquid, cover, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, turning every 5 minutes to ensure even color, until pears are cooked but still firm. Remove saucepan from flame, uncover and cool with pears upright in pan. Once cool, cover and chill in refrigerator at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours, turning occasionally, if desired. Gently remove pears from liquid and allow to come to room temperature. Meanwhile, reduce liquid by about half over a medium-high flame for 15 minutes, until liquid is thicker and slightly syrupy. Remove from flame and let liquid come to room temperature. Drizzle each pear with 2 tablespoons syrup and serve.

PEARS POACHED IN RED WINE, CARDAMOM AND ORANGE

Steps:

• Combine first 7 ingredients in heavy large saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to simmer. Add pears and return mixture to simmer. Reduce heat and simmer slowly until pears are tender when pierced with knife, about 25 minutes. Transfer pears to plate. Boil liquid in saucepan until reduced to 3 cups, about 20 minutes. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill pears in poaching liquid. Before serving, rewarm over medium-low heat until pears are heated through.)
• Arrange 1 warm pear and 1 scoop of ice cream on each of 4 plates. Drizzle some poaching liquid over. Sprinkle with biscotti crumbs. Garnish with orange peel strips, if desired, and serve.

VANILLA POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• Place the white wine, water, sugar and vanilla bean and pulp into a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
• Core the pears from the bottom. Decrease the heat to medium low and place the pears into the liquid, cover and cook for 30 minutes or until the pears are tender but not falling apart. Maintain a gentle simmer. Remove the pears to a serving dish, standing them upright, and place in the refrigerator.
• Remove the vanilla bean from the saucepan, increase the heat to high and reduce the syrup to approximately 1 cup of liquid, approximately 20 to 25 minutes. Do not allow the syrup to turn brown. Place the syrup in a heatproof container and place in the refrigerator until cool, approximately 1 hour.
• Remove the pears from the refrigerator, spoon the sauce over the pears and serve.

POACHED PEARS WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• Core pears from bottom, leaving stems intact. Peel pears. Cut 1/4 in. from bottom to level if necessary. Place in a large saucepan; add the water, vanilla, cinnamon stick and nutmeg. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 35-40 minutes or until pears are almost tender., Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and cinnamon. Gradually whisk in milk until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Cool. , Drain pears; place on dessert plates. Drizzle with chocolate sauce.

POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• Peel the pears, and place in medium saucepan. Add wine, sugar, vanilla bean, cinnamon stick, orange peel, lemon peel, cloves, star anise, bay leaf, and just enough water to cover pears.
• Set saucepan over high heat, and bring liquid to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook, occasionally stirring gently, over medium-low heat, until a paring knife easily pierces pears, about 15 minutes. Remove pan from heat; let pears cool in liquid.
• Using a slotted spoon, transfer pears to a plate. Pour poaching liquid through a sieve set over a bowl. Discard solids, and return liquid to saucepan. Place over medium-high heat, and cook until liquid has been reduced to a syrup that coats the back of a wooden spoon, about 45 minutes. Let cool; store pears in an airtight container until ready to serve.
• When ready to serve, arrange pears on a platter or on individual plates, and drizzle poaching liquid over them.

POACHED PEARS WITH VANILLA SAUCE

Steps:

• In a heavy 2-qt. saucepan, combine 1/3 cup sugar and cornstarch; gradually stir in milk and cream until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat., Gradually add a small amount of hot mixture to egg yolks; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Cook and stir over medium-low heat for 15 minutes or until mixture thickens slightly (do not boil). Stir in vanilla. Pour into a bowl; place a piece of waxed paper or plastic wrap on top of sauce. Cover and refrigerate. , In a large bowl, combine 6 cups water and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Carefully peel pears, leaving stems attached. Immediately plunge pears into lemon water. In a large saucepan, combine lemon zest, and the remaining sugar, water and lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Add cinnamon stick, cloves and pears. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until pears are tender., Carefully remove pears to a plate. Discard cinnamon stick and cloves. Drizzle syrup over pears. Loosely cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours. To serve, place pears on dessert plates; drizzle with chilled vanilla sauce.

POACHED PEARS WITH RASPBERRY SAUCE

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, bring the water, sugar and wine to a boil. Reduce heat; carefully add pears. Cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until tender. Remove pears and reserve cooking liquid., In a small bowl, combine spreadable fruit and vanilla. Stir in enough cooking liquid to form a sauce consistency. Cover and refrigerate sauce and pears separately until chilled. , Remove sauce from the refrigerator 15 minutes before serving. Place two pear halves on each dessert plate; top with sauce. Garnish with raspberries and mint if desired.

POACHED PEARS WITH CREME ANGLAISE

Steps:

• To make the creme anglaise, rinse the inside of a non aluminum saucepan with water and shake out the excess.
• Pour in the milk and place over medium-low heat until bubbles form around the edges of the pan, about 5 minutes.
• In a small bowl, combine the whole eggs, egg yolk, and sugar; whisk just until blended.
• Gradually whisk in half of the hot milk, then pour the egg mixture back into the pan.
• Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, leaving a clear trail when your finger is drawn through it, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Stir in the vanilla.
• Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming, and let cool.
• Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or for up to 2 days.
• Julienne the zest from the lemon and set aside (reserve the lemon for the juice).
• With an apple corer or a small, sharp knife, carefully core each pear from the bottom.
• Trim the bottoms so they stand upright.
• Leaving the stems intact, peel the pears.
• In a large non aluminum stockpot, combine the pomegranate juice, brown sugar, lemon zest, juice from the reserved lemon and cinnamon stick.
• Bring to boil over high heat, then reduce heat to simmer.
• Place pears on their sides in the liquid and cook, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes.
• In the meantime, seed the pomegranates by cutting them in half (careful, the juice can stain).
• Fill a large bowl with cool water.
• Holding the cut fruit under the water, peel back the skin and membrane to release the seeds, allowing them to sink to the bottom of the bowl.
• Discard peels and membrane; drain and reserve the seeds.
• Carefully turn the pears over and cook until a small knife can be inserted easily into the bottom of the pear, 10 or 15 minutes longer.
• Once the pears are done, remove them from the cooking liquid and stand upright on individual serving plates.
• Remove and discard the cinnamon stick.
• Pour about 2 cups of the poaching liquid into a small saucepan; simmer over medium-low heat until reduced by half, about 10 minutes.
• Mix orange liqueur and cornstarch together in a small bowl.
• Gradually whisk the orange liqueur mixture into the reduced poaching liquid; reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring until the sauce thickens to a glaze, about 10 minutes.
• Pour a little of the glaze over each pear, then spread some of the creme anglaise around the bottoms of each one.
• Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and garnish with a mint sprig.
• Serve the remaining glaze alongside.

SPICED POACHED PEARS IN CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Steps:

• In a pan big enough to hold the pears snugly, tip in all the ingredients except the pears. Half fill the pan with water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 mins to infuse, drop in pears, cover and gently poach for about 30 mins until soft. Turn off the heat and set aside. The pears can be poached up to 2 days ahead and kept in the poaching syrup in the fridge.
• To make the chocolate sauce, tip the chocolate into a heatproof bowl. Bring the cream, milk and cinnamon to the boil and pour over the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted. To serve, drain the pears and, holding them by the stem, dip them in the chocolate sauce to completely cover. Serve each pear with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream.

RED WINE POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients but pears in a large saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Add pears and cover with a parchment round. Reduce to a simmer and cook until pears are tender, 20 to 30 minutes. If necessary, turn pears very gently by rotating the stems with your fingertips so they cook evenly. Remove pears to a bowl, bring poaching liquid to a rapid boil, and reduce by half, about 10 minutes.
• Pour reduced syrup over pears and refrigerate, covered, for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight. Serve in shallow bowls or cups.

POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• In a saucepan over medium heat, combine champagne, orange juice and sugar. Add orange slices, cloves and vanilla. Bring to a boil, and stir until sugar is dissolved. Place pears in saucepan, and reduce heat. Cover, and simmer 15 minutes. Remove cover, and simmer an additional 30 minutes. Remove pears from the liquid, and let cool.
• Heat chocolate in a bowl over hot water, stirring until melted. Pour chocolate over the pears, and serve.

POACHED PEARS BELLE HELENE

Steps:

• Place water in a heavy pot. Stir in zest and juice of 1 lemon. Place pears in pot. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Add the seeds and split pods to the poaching liquid. Pour in sugar.
• Bring pot to a simmer over medium-high heat; stir gently to dissolve sugar with minimal jostling of the pears. Reduce heat so pears continue cooking over a steady, gentle simmer. Pears need to stay submerged, so place a small plate over them in the pot to keep them under the liquid. Simmer until pears are just tender, 20 to 25 minutes. (Remove plate to test the pears for doneness.) Remove pot from heat and let pears cool to room temperature in the poaching liquid.
• Transfer pears and vanilla beans to a storage container and cover with some of the poaching liquid. Cover and refrigerate until pears are thoroughly chilled, several hours or overnight. Reserve all of the poaching liquid (see footnote).
• Heat hot fudge sauce in a saucepan over medium heat until warm. Dip base of pear into the chocolate and spoon chocolate along the sides except for the top inch or so of the pear.
• Place dipped pears in individual serving bowls with another generous spoonful of syrup and a small scoop of vanilla ice cream.

RED WINE POACHED PEARS WITH CHOCOLATE FILLING

Steps:

• Cut bottom off each pear and core from the bottom to give each pear a flat bottom to stand upright.
• Combine wine, water, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and star anise in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and arrange pears on their sides in the saucepan. Simmer pears for 10 to 12 minutes. Turn pears and continue simmering until tender and easily poked with a fork, 8 to 10 minutes. Work in batches if needed.
• Remove pears from wine mixture and place in a serving dish, standing upright. Continue boiling wine sauce until reduced to about 3/4 cup, 5 to 10 more minutes.
• Fill each pear's core cavity with chocolate sauce. Pour wine sauce over each pear.

SPICED RED WINE POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• Halve the lemon, and remove 3 wide strips of rind. Peel the pears, leaving a topknot of skin and the stem, if it's attached; rub with the cut lemon. Working from the bottom, core the pears.
• Choose a pot that will hold the pears snugly. Cut a circle of parchment paper to fit inside the pot. Cut 4 slices from the lemon and put them, the strips of zest and all the other ingredients - except the pears - into the pot. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and add the pears, tops up - it's O.K. if they're not fully submerged. Cover with the paper circle and the pot's lid.
• Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes - the pears should still be slightly firm but easily pierced with the tip of a knife; transfer them to a bowl. Boil the syrup for 5 minutes, pour over the fruit and discard the spices. Serve slightly warm, at room temperature or chilled, with or without cream.

POACHED PEARS (POIRES POCHEES)

Steps:

• Bring water to a boil in a saucepan. Add lemon juice and pears and let sit for 2 minutes. Remove pears from the hot water 1 at a time and carefully peel, leaving stem intact.
• Combine wine, sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and star anise in a medium-sized saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Rinse pears and add to the boiling wine mixture. Use a plate on top of pears to keep them submerged. Simmer until a knife very easily pierces the pears, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat and allow pears to cool in the wine mixture.
• Serve pears in a bowl, either whole or sliced and cored.

MARSALA-POACHED PEARS

Steps:

• Cut pears in half lengthwise and remove cores. Measure Marsala cooking wine into a small mixing bowl. Add brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg; stir to dissolve sugar.
• Melt butter in a large 12-inch skillet. Stir in Marsala mixture. Cook over medium heat until bubbly. Place pears in pan, cut side down. Cover and cook over medium-low heat 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand 30-45 minutes or until cool enough to serve.
• Place each pear half in a small bowl. Stir remaining sauce in pan; drizzle each serving with 1-2 teaspoons warm sauce. Top with a small scoop of ice cream, and if desired, toasted pecans. Serve immediately.

HONEY-POACHED PEARS WITH MASCARPONE

Steps:

• Toss pears with lemon juice in large bowl. Set aside. Combine 1 cup water, wine and honey in medium saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Stir over medium heat until honey dissolves. Add pears. Cover mixture with round piece of parchment paper. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until pears are just tender when pierced, turning when half-way through cooking, about 15 minutes.
• Using slotted spoon, transfer pears to large bowl. Boil poaching liquid until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 2 minutes. Cool syrup. Pour syrup over pears. Cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 8 hours or overnight. Remove vanilla bean.
• Whisk mascarpone cheese, sugar and brandy in large bowl until smooth. Add 1/4 cup chilled poaching syrup and whisk until soft peaks form.
• Thinly slice each pear half lengthwise, leaving slices attached at stem end. Using metal spatula, transfer pears to plates. Gently press on pears to fan slightly. Spoon some syrup over pears. Spoon mascarpone cream alongside each pear half and serve.