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Poached Pears with Vanilla and Cinnamon

Master this elegant dessert with guidance from top chef, Michael Caines. Poached pears make a fantastic dinner party dessert and can be prepared in advance.

From the book

Introduction

Simple yet effective, pears have such a wonderful fragrant flavour that you need to use spice in a considered way to complement their fabulous taste. It’s best not to use over-ripened fruit for poaching, but they should not be too hard either.

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Ingredients

1l water
300g caster sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 vanilla pod, cut in half and seeds scraped out
1 lemon, juice
8 ripe pears

Method

Place all the ingredients except the pears in a stainless steel saucepan, do not turn on the heat. Peel the pears, add them to the pan once they are peeled, then place them onto the stove and bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook the pears carefully.

Once cooked, remove the pan from the heat and allow the pears to cool in the sugar syrup. To check if they are cooked, take a paring knife and push it into the middle of the fruit. If the pears feel soft, they are cooked. They can be served hot or cold.

Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars

6 Ratings

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9 Comments

    default user avatar Colin Peters

    Simple yet satisfying. We reduced the sugar by half.

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    default user avatar Lynzi

    Can you reheat these pears? If so, how?

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    default user avatar The Happy Foodie Team

    Hi Lynzi,

    We would recommend gently reheating the pears in their poaching liquid until just warmed through.

    Happy Cooking!
    The Happy Foodie Team

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    default user avatar KathyW

    The most delicious poached pears I have ever eaten.

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    default user avatar Jane

    Trying this tomorrow – how long should it take to simmer the pears to cook fully?
    Sounds fabulous!

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    default user avatar The Happy Foodie Team

    Hi Jane,

    Thank you for your query. We would advise checking the pears to see if they are fully poached after 20-30 minutes.

    Happy Cooking!
    The Happy Foodie Team

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    default user avatar Caroline

    I used small unripe pears and they were lovely.👍👍👍

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    default user avatar Ruth Bligh

    Do you then boil the poaching juice to make a syrup to coat the pears?

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    default user avatar The Happy Foodie Team

    Hi Ruth,

    Thank you for your query. You bring the poaching liquid to a boil when you poach the pears and this creates a syrup.

    Happy Cooking!
    The Happy Foodie Team

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From the book: Michael Caines At Home

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