Recipe > Poached Pear
Pear Poached in Ginger and Honey
Once you have poached the pears, reduce the 'poaching liquor' by rapid boiling to form a truly gorgeous syrup.

Serve with ice cream or creme fraiche

Serves 4

Recipe Ingredients
4 x pears
290ml / 1/2 pint white wine
290ml / 1/2 pint water
2 cm / 1 thumb of ginger
1 vanilla pod or 1 Tsp of vanilla essence
5 x saffron strands or 1/8 Tsp turmeric
85g / 3oz brown sugar
2 Tblsp honey
1/2 lemon, juice and zest of

Mise-en-Place:
Weigh the ingredients
Peel the pears, slice the base of each pear (so that it stands upright) and if you wish, scoop out the core and seeds with a parisienne scoop (or use a spoon)
Zest and juice the lemon

Method:
Place all the ingredients in a saucepan
Bring the contents to the boil, then reduce to a simmer
Cook for 15 - 20 minutes or until the pears are tender and soft
To test if the pears are cooked, insert a skewer, it should pass easily through the pear with no resistance. If the pear still feels quite firm, cook for longer
Remove the pears from the liquid and allow to cool
Strain the liquid then return to the saucepan and rapidly boil until the liquid is thick and syrupy.
Allow to cool
Serve the pear with the syrup

Adjust:
The syrup should be sweet, thick and balanced. To test if the syrup is thick enough lay a trail across a cold plate: the syrup should not spread into a puddle, it should hold its shape and form an clear line
Too astringent: the astringency is from the ginger, add more liquid and sugar, reheat and boil until syrupy
Too thin: continue to boil the liquid until it thickens (or add more sugar)
Too thick: loosen the syrup with a little water
Too sweet: add more lemon juice

Presentation:
Layer the syrup onto the plate. You can either shape it into a zig-zag or a circle.
Place the pear, off-centre on the plate
Serve with ice cream or creme fraiche.
If you have the skills a little sugar work wouldn't go amiss.

Chef Tip: For quick and easy sugar work, use half the syrup to garnish the plate, leave the other half in the saucepan. Add two tablespoons of sugar to the syrup, heat rapidly until it starts to caramelise, allow to cool slightly then use the caramelised syrup as normal to form sugar work / spirals

Chef Insight: The pear originated in asia minor, different species ripen from as early as july and as late as january. Pears have had great significance in historical contexts, not only in culinary histories but ancient religious and pagan rituals. The pear is very often associated with fertility. Pears are rich in vitamin C and B. An alcoholic drink, similar to cider is made from pears and is known as 'perry'