How to make poached pears

Poached pears make the ideal cold weather warmer as they’re comforting, look fabulous and take no time at all to prepare. In this method of gentle, stove-top cooking, the pears are slowly simmered with all sorts of syrups and spices to bring out their delicate and distinct flavours.

What makes them even better is that you can serve them any way you want. They’re delicious in their own right, drizzled with a spot of cream, stewed in a spicy wine or even chopped up and served with crepes and yoghurts. The possibilities are near endless!

The key is to remember that the longer the pears sit in the flavorful syrup after poaching, the better they’ll taste – making this an ideal option for those who like to plan and prepare ahead. The fruit becomes tender, reduces down and absorbs the beautifully concentrated flavour of the liquid.

You can create a simple poaching liquid by mixing two parts liquid (such as water, wine, or fruit juice) with one part sugar. Follow our simple tips below for perfectly poached pears.

Peel 2 medium pears, leaving the stalk intact. Place them into a saucepan with crushed cardamom pods, caster sugar, a vanilla pod, saffron, a cinnamon stick and 500 ml of water.

Poach for an hour or until the pears are tender, then remove them from the heat and allow them to cool.

Boil the leftover syrup until it reduces to a sticky glaze. Serve the pears with 2 tablespoons of the saffron glaze and granola.

Ingredients |

• 2 medium pears
• 10 cardamom pods
• 320 g caster sugar
• ½ a vanilla pod
• 100 mg saffron
• 1 small stick of cinnamon

Method |

Peel the pears, leaving the stalk intact. Crush the cardamom pods.

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan with 1 litre of water, bring to a simmer and gently poach the pears for about 2 hours or until tender. Remove from the heat, allow to cool, then refrigerate overnight to steep.

Before serving, remove the pears and set aside to bring to room temperature.

Boil the syrup until reduced to a sticky glaze, about 250ml. Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of saffron glaze over the pears, then serve with ice cream or cream.

Not only is this fruit dessert delicious, but it’s also a great way of getting one of your five-a-day. What do you make of poached pears? Will you be incorporating this classy festive dessert in your fall menu?

Take a photo of your version, send us an email, tag us on Instagram, tweet us, anything. We love to see you trying out our recipe!

xoxo, Joe