Spiced wine-poached pears
Pears poached in red wine flavoured with Madagascar cinnamon and cloves. A classic, step-by-step recipe. Contains wine.
- Prep 20 min
- Cooking 35 min
- Total 55 min
- Serves 4 servings
- Difficulty Easy
Pears poached in spiced red wine are made in France in autumn and winter, cooked slowly until they take on the colour of the wine. Our version flavours the syrup with Madagascar cinnamon and clove. This recipe contains wine.
Our family grows this cinnamon and this clove in Vangaindrano, in south-eastern Madagascar. Infused together in the wine during poaching, they flavour the syrup that then coats the pears.
Preparation
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Peel the pears, keeping the stalk on.
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In a saucepan large enough to hold the pears, bring the red wine to a simmer with the sugar, cinnamon, cloves and orange zest.
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Place the pears in the simmering syrup, cover with a lid and poach for 25 to 35 minutes over low heat, turning them halfway through, until a knife blade slides easily into the flesh.
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Remove the pears with a slotted spoon and set them aside in a deep dish.
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Strain the syrup through a fine sieve to remove the cloves and zest, then reduce it for 10 minutes over high heat until it coats a spoon.
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Pour the lukewarm syrup over the pears and leave them to cool, then chill for at least 4 hours in the fridge, basting them once or twice so they colour evenly.
The little extra that changes everything
Always strain the syrup before reducing it: whole cloves left in the liquid keep infusing and take over from the cinnamon's aroma. For a vanilla version rather than a spiced one, see vanilla poached pears. Our products for this recipe: Madagascar cinnamon (40 g bag), Madagascar cloves (25 g bag)
