Deliciously sweet and tender pears poached in a vanilla-infused syrup.
Vanilla Poached Pears
This delightful dessert recipe comes from the renowned chef, Alton Brown. The pears are gently poached in a vanilla-infused syrup, resulting in a dessert that’s both sweet and light. Perfect for rounding off a meal.
Ingredients
- 1 bottle white wine, Riesling or Viognier
- 1 cup water
- 5 ounces vanilla sugar, approximately 3/4 cup
- 1 whole vanilla bean, split and scraped
- 4 firm Bartlett, Anjou or Bosc pears, peeled leaving the stem intact
Directions
- Place the white wine, water, sugar and vanilla bean and pulp into a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
- Core the pears from the bottom. Decrease the heat to medium low and place the pears into the liquid, cover and cook for 30 minutes or until the pears are tender but not falling apart. Maintain a gentle simmer. Remove the pears to a serving dish, standing them upright, and place in the refrigerator.
- Remove the vanilla bean from the saucepan, increase the heat to high and reduce the syrup to approximately 1 cup of liquid, approximately 20 to 25 minutes. Do not allow the syrup to turn brown. Place the syrup in a heatproof container and place in the refrigerator until cool, approximately 1 hour.
- Remove the pears from the refrigerator, spoon the sauce over the pears and serve.
- Be sure not to overcook the pears, as they can become too soft and lose their shape. The syrup should be reduced until it’s thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, but be careful not to let it turn brown.