Poached Pears

Poached Pears

I have a bag of pears in the fridge awaiting to be ripen, but after more than one month, they are still as firm as day one. Must be some powerful preservative or fertilizer that the farmer used! 

Time for me to do something with them. What's the quickest way to soften a pear? Poaching! I loved poached fruits. The cooking process brings out the sweetness of the fruit, paired with the added flavour from the poaching syrup, it's like eating a vanilla pear.

Poached pear with vanilla and lemon zest

Poached pears are easy to make, quick to impress but long to cook. It's a slow cooking process. The good thing is that you can always make this in advance and served with ice-cream during dessert. =)

Poached pears served with mint leave and lemon zest

Recipe

4 Bosco pears
2 cups water
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoon lemon zest (leave 1 tablespoon for garnishing)
1 vanilla pod (split open)
2 whole cardamon seeds (cracked open)
1 stalk mint leaves (optional)

1. Bring water to a boil and wish in sugar. Continue to boil for 10 minutes or until sugar completely dissolved.

2. Add in lemon juice, 1 tablespoon lemon zest, vanilla pod and cardamon seeds.

3. Bring the syrup to a boil and whisking occasionally to incorporate the flavour for about 15 minutes. Leave syrup on stove under low heat.

4. Peel the pears. Place pears in syrup. Cooked for 30 minutes under low heat.

5. Remove pears and leave to cool in a plate. Cool both syrup and pears to room tempature before placing in fridge.

6. Served with lemon zest and mint leaves.

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Tips and tricks

1. Make sure that pot is big and deep enough to fit all pears.

2. Pears will float when placed into the syrup. This is normal.

3. Do not wash the vanilla bean before use.

4. You can replace the cardomon seeds with 1 cinnamon stick.

5. Use the back of a spoon to crack open the cardomon.

6. Choose pears that are firm. Soften pears will mush up during cooking.

7. For better presentation, choose pears will longer stalk.

8. You may core them if you like, but leave the stem in place.

9. Warm or cold with ice-cream or cream.

10. You can keep left-over syrup in the fridge for up to 3 months and continue to use them.