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Active Time
20 min
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Total Time
1 1/2 hr
Though poaching pears in wine often results in a subtle, sophisticated dessert, it rarely looks as lovely as it tastes. Here, Grimes took inspiration from the saturated-red glassware that's ubiquitous in Parisian flea markets and from a dessert at Le Chateaubriand, which uses beet to give the pears a lush garnet hue. As far as its flavor goes, the beet doesn't lend anything more than a nice balance to the overall dish, but you'll probably want to poach pears this way from now on.
Ingredients
Makes 6 servings
Step 1
Bring wine, beet, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and bay leaves to a boil in a 1 1/2- to 2-quarts saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved.
Step 2
Add pears and cover with a round of parchment paper. Simmer, turning occasionally, until pears are tender and liquid is syrupy, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer pears to a bowl. Discard cinnamon stick and bay leaves and pour syrup over pears. Cool completely in syrup, about 30 minutes.
Poached pears can be made 1 day ahead and chilled. Bring to room temperature before serving.
Leave a Review
Reviews (18)
Back to TopI used Bartlett pears. Used maple sugar & maple syrup instead of regular sugar. Added star anise, whole Jamaican pepper, cloves and juniper berries to the poaching liquid. Aroma was great. Colour absolutely beautiful, intense red. The longer they sit in the liquid, the more intense the colour. Tossed the beets out when it cooled down so they wouldn't impart a vegetable flavour.
prefiks_laki
Ottawa
10/20/2013
I used Bosc pears as I couldn't find any of the other. Turned out great. Made it the day before and also added some star anise. I turned the pears about every 8 hours and left them in the syrup overnight. Pears slowly turned darker until they were the scarlet by X-mas Day dinner. Never got it to be very syrupy - so I removed the pears and cooked the liquid down. Definitely would make this again - not too sweet and absolutely beautiful.
Anonymous
Altadena, CA
1/4/2011
Intrigued by the beet addition -- it was brilliant and added a wonderful earthiness to the pears. Only change I made/make is to use half Orange Muscat and 1/2 ruby Port. Intensifies the colors.
BerlinBaby
Berlin, Germany
3/14/2010
Not great. I didn't follow recipe exactly (subbed another liqueur for the Orange Muscat) and probably should have allowed the liquid to reduce more, but they were still very un-special.
Anonymous
Boston, MA
11/12/2009
Made this for a dinner party for 6. While acceptible it was not raved over, unlike the poached pears with spiced caramel also available on this site. Therefore considering the cost and the time involved I will not be attempting this again. The Orange Muscat wine is hard to find and not exactly cheap and so cooks need to find some substitute for this.
major_d
9/25/2009
These were AMAZING! I did not have the exact ingredients, but still used the same beet and wine base. I used what I had on hand, which was port, fresh beets, sugar, cinnamon (powdered), whole clove, orange rind, and sliced orange. I served it with a bit of goat cheese and sliced cucumber for garnish. Everyone raved about it! I can't wait to make it again.
dresnboots
Vermont
9/10/2009
Fantastic!
MRough
Charlottesville, VA
7/17/2009
This was excellent, and perfect for Christmas Day brunch! I think this would be a great make-ahead dish as well. I used port wine, left out the bay and added some whole cloves, cardamom pods, peppercorns, and strip of orange peels, along with a little extra sugar because cooked in in a couple handfuls of fresh cranberries. To serve, I tossed with some satsuma segments. Gorgeous and delicious!
lamb2love
12/25/2008
我做了这个红马斯喀特和康科德梨(I didn't see smallish pears in the market). Look for firmer and less graniny pears- in case your friends don't eat pears on regular basis. I poached it since mine are getting pretty soft after 20min. i turned off heat and they steep overnight. I reduced the syrup after poaching. everyone thought it was great. super festive too.
jeniyo
oceanside, ca
12/8/2008
While I have yet to make this particular recipe, I make lovely ruby colored poached pears by poaching the pears in a combo of red and white wine and simple syrup. I let the pears steep overnight to enhance the color. I also add a couple whole cloves, peppercorns and cardomon pods to the poaching liquid.
chef54
Marengo, IL
10/29/2008
After 45 min. or so, the liquid was not yet "syrupy". I cooled the pears in the liquid overnight. The next day I poured the liquid into a pan and boiled it down to a syrup. I put the chilled pears on a platter with some coconut sorbet and drizzled the syrup over both. Delicious! Will definitely make again.
Anonymous
Oakland, CA
9/30/2008
Made these for a dinner party and they were beautiful. The pears were delicious before being poached (a rarity, in my experience) but the color made them even better.
Anonymous
Franklin, Mi
9/21/2008
The parchment "wicks" the poaching liquid over any pear pieces that stick out above the top, so you don't have any uncolored spots.
Anonymous
Greenville, WI
9/19/2008
What's with covering the simmering liquid in parchment? That sounds like a sticky pain. Why not just a lid?
sushipants
9/18/2008
This is a lovely dessert recipe. The flavors are just right and the color from the beets is beautiful. Although I would not serve the beets with the pears, I must say that they were quite good to munch on.
Anonymous
Los Angeles, CA
9/13/2008
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