Poached Pears Recipe: How to Poach Pears in Wine

Poached pears are a simple French dessert consisting of unripe pears simmered in seasoned wine until tender. Recipes for poaching liquid vary by personal preference, but most feature red or white wine: the former will stain the pears an attractive shade of magenta, while the latter will leave them looking most like themselves. A recipe for poached pears will also include a sweetener like sugar or honey and warm spices like cinnamon, clove, and star anise. Fresh ginger can bring a gentle heat to the dessert.

Make poached pears on the stovetop or in the oven, in a large pot like a Dutch oven or a saucepan. Serve the finished fruit on its own, with a drizzle of leftover syrup, or combine with frangipane in a shortbread crust to make a classic poached pear tart.

While you can poach any kind of pear, the best varieties are those that will hold their shape throughout the cooking process. Anjou or Bosc pears are among the most popular types of pears for poaching, but you can also use Forelle or Bartlett pears. Choose firm pears just starting to ripen—the flesh near the stem should feel just barely soft.

If you’re ready to poach pears, here’s what you need to know:

1. 1. Use slightly underripe fruit. For best poaching results, pears should be firm and only just beginning to ripen. Overly ripe fruit will only fall apart during the poaching process. If your pears are too hard, here’s how to ripen pears.
2. 2. Use a melon baller to remove the core. The easiest way to remove a pear’s core is with a small melon baller. If you don’t have a melon baller on hand, use a paring knife and a spoon.
3. 3. Choose the style of wine. The original intention behind poached pears was to transform unripe or unsatisfactory fruit, so choose a wine with notable aromatics for the best effect. Look for red wines with jammy, red-fruit forward top notes and white wines that taste of honey, white flowers, and ripe stone fruit like peaches. Here’s how to choose the perfect wine for cooking. For a nonalcoholic dessert, use a fruit juice like pomegranate, cranberry (to mimic the appearance of a red wine–poached pear), or white grape juice.
4. 4. Serve with rich, creamy accompaniments. The spicy-sweet flavor of poached pears goes best with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of thick whipped cream enriched with mascarpone cheese or crème fraîche.