If you love the elegance of a beautiful dessert and the simplicity of a homemade treat, try this Ginger Spiced Poached Pear!
Ginger Spiced Poached Pears are a simple dessert made by gently boiling bosc or anjou pears in a mixture of water, sugar, and spices such as cinnamon, star anise, cloves, and ginger. The poaching liquid is reduced into an amber-colored syrup then drizzled on top of the pears for serving.
Our blog post below includes easy instructions on how to make Ginger Spiced Poached Pears as well as serving recommendations.
If you love sweet, beautiful, and easy desserts, come check out more of our dessert recipes like Ube Cream Puffs!
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Poached pears are a fantastic and heartwarming autumn dessert.
The seasonal pears are slowly cooked in a poaching liquid steeped with warm spices like ginger, cinnamon, star anise, and cloves. We added brown sugar for sweetness and lemon for acidity because they enhance the spice flavors and balance out any bitterness.
Our Ginger Spiced Poached Pear recipe is flavorful and not too sweet. Served warm, it provides a comforting ending to any meal. And if you pair it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, you’ll be taken on a satisfying hot/cold experience!
If you’re planning a dinner party, you can prepare a batch of Ginger Spiced Poached pears ahead of timeand warm it up before serving. This makes dessert a no-brainer so you can focus on entertaining guests!
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The best pears for poaching are anjou or bosc. Anjou pears are greenish-yellow with mild flavor. Bosc pears are bronze colored, and are crisp and sweet.
Both have firm texture that are ideal for holding up in recipes that require poaching, baking, boiling, etc. Whichever one you prefer, our recipe works very well.
Poaching Liquid
4 cups water
2 cups brown sugar halved
juice of 1 lemon wedge
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1 whole cinnamon stick
2 cloves star anise
2 slices ginger
Recipe
Compared to boiling, poaching is a boiling technique in which an ingredient is boiled at a low temperature. It results in a very soft pear.
Poach the pears
Peel the pears, leaving the stem intact. Cut the bottom of the pears flat so they stand on their own.
Combine the poaching liquid ingredients (use only 1 cup of the brown sugar) in a small pot. Bring to boiling point then lower the heat to a gentle simmer.
Carefully place the pears in the simmering pot. Throughout the poaching process, use a ladle to gently pour the liquid over the pears, ensuring that the entire pear cooks evenly. Poaching time depends on the pear type and its size. They typically take between 15-30 minutes. See Note 1.
Carefully remove poached pears from the pot. Let cool and pour small spoonfuls of liquid on top to keep from drying out.
Note 1. When poaching the pears, be very careful not to touch the pear because it can easily get smashed. Try to only touch if needed to readjust its place in the pot, and try to hold it by the stem (it will be hot!)
Make the syrup
Add the remaining 1 cup of brown sugar to the poaching liquid.
Continue to reduce the poaching liquid into a simple syrup. This may take up to 30 min. You may raise the heat slightly to a medium boil to speed the process, but do not heat too aggressively (or else you may turn it into hard candy.) The syrup tends to thicken as it cools so remove from heat just before your desired thickness.
Serve
Pour the warm syrup on top of the poached pears.
Serve the pears with garnish of your choice, such as granola and ginger candy.
How to Serve Poached Pears
Pour the warm syrup on top of the poached pears. Serve the pears with sides or garnish of your choice, such as granola and ginger candy.
Here’s some suggestions for what to serve with poached pears:
fresh whipped cream
ice cream
sponge cake
honeycomb
biscotti
turmeric ginger granola
ginger candy
Final Thoughts
Poached pears are a deceptively simple yet classy dessert. Impress your guests at a dinner party, or treat yourself to a night of elegance. We recommend you make extra, because you’ll be wanting more!
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Poached pears are a deceptively simple yet classy dessert. Impress your guests at a dinner party, or treat yourself to a night of elegance. We recommend you make extra, because you'll be wanting more!
Peel the pears, leaving the stem intact. Cut the bottom of the pears flat so they stand on their own.
Combine the poaching liquid ingredients (use only 1 cup of the brown sugar) in a small pot. Bring to boiling point then lower the heat to a gentle simmer.
Carefully place the pears in the simmering pot. Throughout the poaching process, use a ladle to gently pour the liquid over the pears, ensuring that the entire pear cooks evenly. Poaching time depends on the pear type and its size. They typically take between 15-30 minutes. See Note 1.
Carefully remove poached pears from the pot. Let cool and pour small spoonfuls of liquid on top to keep from drying out.
Make the syrup
Add the remaining 1 cup of brown sugar to the poaching liquid.
Continue to reduce the poaching liquid into a simple syrup. This may take up to 30 min. You may raise the heat slightly to a medium boil to speed the process, but do not heat too aggressively (or else you may turn it into hard candy.) The syrup tends to thicken as it cools so remove from heat just before your desired thickness.
Serve
Pour the warm syrup on top of the poached pears.
Serve the pears with garnish of your choice, such as granola and ginger candy.
Notes
Note 1. When poaching the pears, be very careful not to touch the pear because it can easily get smashed. Try to only touch if needed to readjust its place in the pot, and try to hold it by the stem (it will be hot!)
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Noelle Noriesta, a Filipino-American home cook, is the principal creator of Fork and Spoon. Her recipes have a modern and playful approach inspired by her food experiences growing up in the Bay Area and now in Los Angeles. --Read more about me