Spiced Red Wine Poached Pears

Did someone say iconic and delicious Winter Dessert? I give you these Spiced Poached Pears in Red Wine, a super easy dessert recipe that is always a great way to end any dinner party!

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Poached Pears is always a show-stopping dessert if you ask me – no wonder it is a real classic French recipe! Not only extremely easy to make, Spiced Poached Pears are full of flavours and fill your house with a divine smell. They are the perfect winter dessert to serve at the end of a dinner party! And what I love the most about this recipe is that… well, there really isn’t a right or wrong recipe here. You can use any spices, fruits or ingredients to flavour your poached pears.

The quantity of the red wine, and the ratio of wine-water is entirely up to you, whether you want a softer or stronger taste. For a burst of red wine flavour, forget the water. For something a bit lighter, increase the quantity of water. The recipe below is my favourite version of this classic dessert; full of winter spices, citrus notes and rich, sweet red wine. I hope it becomes yours too!

Red Wine Poached Pears Ingredients

The main ingredients to make poached pears in red wine are obvious: Red Wine and Pears. Although you could technically poach the pears with these two ingredients only, the addition of spices and lemon juice really make the difference! To make these Pears poached in Red Wine, you will need:

• Pears
• Red Wine (see below for the type of red wine)
• Water
• Lemon Juice
• Brown Sugar
• Orange Peals
• Spices

How to poach Pears

“Poaching” is a technique that involves cooking an ingredient by submerging it in a liquid – here a mix of red wine and water. Lots of different ingredients – both sweet and savoury – can be poached. It is often known as a healthier way of cooking as it does not require any added fat like butter or oil. Poaching Pears is extremely easy:

1. Create a poaching liquid with your choice of ingredients, spices and flavouring. Here, we used Red Wine, Water, Brown Sugar, Lemon Juice, Orange Peels and a few different Spices.
2. Peel the Pears. You can either poach the full pears with the stem, or slice it in half or quarters and removing the stems and core.
3. Place the poaching liquid in a deep pot and bring to a simmer, then submerge the pears in the liquid. Leave it to cook on a low to medium heat until nice and soft, but still holding its shape. Remove the pears from the liquid.
4. Optionally, keep the rest of the poaching liquid, increase the heat and reduce it to create a deliciously flavourful syrup.

How long do Pears take to Poach?

It is hard to give an exact time as it will highly depend on how ripe your pears are, the variety you use and how soft you want them. It will also depend on the temperature of the poaching liquid.

I have found that with un-ripe pears, it will take about 20 to 30 minutes to poach them in a simmering poaching liquid, and get a soft poached pear that still holds its shape. As always, it is best to keep an eye on them and occasionally poke a sharp knife in the pears flesh to check how soft they are.

Which Pears are best for poaching?

The key to get the perfect result is to choose a Pear that is not quite ripe and that will hold its shape even after poaching for 30 minutes. You also want a pear that is relatively sweet to balance the spiced red wine has a rather strong flavour. The best pears to use for poaching are:

• Beurre Bosc Pears
• Corella Pears
• Packham Pears
• Anjou Pears. 

Depending on where you live, you may easily find those varieties or not… If not, just ask your local fruit shop what pear they recommend for poaching. There are also a few variety of pears you should definitely avoid as they will turn into a compote when poached: Williams Pears, Bartlett Pears or really… any any pear that is over-ripe!

What Wine to use to poach pears?

My first advice in choosing the right wine is… don’t go for an expensive one! All the flavours of the citrus and spices  will create a deliciously fragrant syrup so there is no need to spend big bucks on the wine itself. The type of red wine you use is entirely up to you, depending on the flavours you are looking to create but I personally prefer to use a sweet Red Wine with spicy and fruity tones. For example:

• Shiraz Cabernet (what I used for this recipe)
• Merlot
• Cabernet Sauvignon.

And as always… go local if you can!

More Pear Dessert Ideas:

Red Wine Pear Tarte Tatin

Pear Crumble Cake

Double Chocolate Cake with Spiced Pears

Pear and Raspberry Cake
from It’s Not Complicated Recipes

Pear Blueberry and Ginger Muffins
from Goodie Goodie Lunchbox

Fresh Pear Pie

Pear and Apple Crumble

Simple Poached Pears in Red Wine Recipe: