A simple yet decadent and elegant dessert – these Red Wine Poached Pears enhance the natural sweetness of the fruit with delicious red wine and beautiful spices.
Serve red wine poached pears with some mascarpone cheese, or whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream for an impressive dessert.
I remember eating my first poached pear when I was little, and wondering whether those gorgeous deep red pears were doused in the same candy as candy apples. I wasn’t too happy that they weren’t crunchy like candy apples, but the taste more than made up for it!
Red Wine Poached Pears are a classic French dessert and very underrated in my opinion. It’s such a simple dessert, yet delightfully flavorful and very elegant and impressive. They have a great balance of sweet, spice and fruity flavors, and the deep red color turns this into a beautiful centerpiece dessert too.
Plus, making red wine poached pears (or white wine poached pears) is really easy. Today, I’m going to show you how to make this easy dessert step by step, with additional suggestions to amp up the flavor.
How to poach pears in red wine with perfect results
Choosing the perfect pear to poach
I prefer Bosc pears. It’s a great choice because bosc pears retain their shape well while being cooked. Bosc pears are crisp and mildly sweet, making them the perfect canvas for all the flavors in the poaching liquid.
Another good option is Anjou pears. They too have a mild flavor that doesn’t interfere with the flavors of the poaching liquid, and more importantly, don’t become mushy while being poached.
Asian pears are also a great option. They are almost like a cross between a pear and an apple in terms of taste and texture. They are also crisp and sweet, and poaching these would again give you something resembling a poached apple and pear in terms of flavor.
Which pears to avoid
Avoid Bartlett pears at all costs. Bartlett pears are delicious to eat, but they bruise easily if handled too much, and warming them up will turn them to mush pretty quickly.
They are perfect to make pear sauce or pear butter, but they are a no-go for poaching.
Can I use overripe pears?
Ideally, you don’t want pears that are overripe, because they’d be too soft to withstand the hot poaching liquid. You CAN poach overripe pears for a shorter time, but that doesn’t give enough time for the pears to really absorb all the flavor. Plus, overripe pears can be harder to manoeuvre while you’re cooking them (since you will need to rotate the pears in the saucepan to evenly cook them).
How to choose a wine to make these red wine poached pears
That’s an important question obviously, with a simple answer. Cook with a wine that you like to drink. And not too expensive. That goes for both red and white wine.
Since the red wine will be simmered here with spices and sugar (or honey), the flavor of the wine will get concentrated and enhanced. A little sweetness is good for poaching pears, so sugar (or honey) is necessary.
I use a Cabernet Sauvignon or a Merlot when I make these red wine poached pears.
How to choose the right spices and flavors for red wine poached pears
Spices
I’ve made these red wine poached pears with all kinds of spices. Seriously, there’s only very few that won’t work. Poached pears are quite versatile, and it’s mostly about choosing what you like. But don’t be afraid to try new spices and flavor profiles that you’re not familiar with either.
For red wine poached pears, I usually go with cinnamon, star anise, cloves, orange peel and vanilla. It’s a great combination of spices. Think mulled wine, but for poached pears. 🙂
Sweetener
Another way to enhance the flavor of these red wine poached pears is by changing the sweetener. I use white sugar for this recipe, but you can add brown sugar, or honey, or coconut sugar instead as well.
Fruits
I always add some orange peel to the red wine when I make these poached pears, but depending on the wine, you can add more flavor with fresh fruits or fruit juice.
I like to add raspberry, or blackberry or cherries that complement the flavor of the red wine. The seeds can be an issue if you’re using raspberries or blackberries, so once the wine is simmered, you can pass it through a sieve to remove the seeds, BEFORE you add the pears.
In terms of juice, I like to add apple cider, orange juice and pomegranate juice.
More alcohol
Totally optional, but why the heck not? 🙂 Yes, it’s red wine poached pears, but you can enhance the flavor with a little more alcohol. I love adding bourbon, whiskey, brandy or sherry. Cointreau and Port are good options too.
Choosing the right saucepan for poaching pears
The poaching liquid for this red wine poached pears recipe is good for a maximum of 5 pears. But you can just as easily poach 3 – 5 pears in this red wine mix. It’s important to use the right saucepan for the job though. You want the pears to fit snugly in the saucepan, with just a little wiggle room for the pears to be partially submerged even at an angle, or upright.
I always poach the pears while they are sitting upright first, and then have them submerged at an angle in the red wine mix so that the tops of the pears get cooked. Usually I have the pears angled towards the middle, and then rotate them every few minutes to make sure the whole pear is poached well and flavored with the wine and spices, and colored evenly. Since it’s red wine, it’s easy to tell which parts of the pears have been poached or not. And since the bottom of the pear is plumper, I poach the pears while keeping them upright for a little longer.
These red wine poached pears can be made a day ahead and stored in the fridge. I prefer to keep the pears in the poaching liquid overnight, because the liquid will continue to flavor the pears even more as the pears cool down. Then this gorgeous poaching liquid can be simmered even more to make a syrup which you can pour over the pears when serving.
Red wine poached pears are such an elegant and delicious dessert that everyone would love! Flavored with wine and spice flavors, and served with more of that delicious wine syrup and a generous serving of mascarpone cheese on the side, this dessert is a great finish to any meal.
And since the liquid is being cooked for a while, the alcohol in the red wine will be mostly cooked out too, so kids can enjoy it as well. I certainly loved eating red wine poached pears when I was a kid, and never got drunk, but that’s a decision I will leave to your discretion. 🙂
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Red Wine Poached Pears
Ingredients:
- ½ cup sugar 100 g
- 1 large piece of orange peel
- 8 - 10 whole cloves
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 2 cups red wine I prefer Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot
- ½ cup water / orange juice see notes for more options
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup raspberries / pitted cherries / blackberries OPTIONAL
- 3 - 6 medium sized bosc pears
Instructions:
- Place all the ingredients (except pears) in a saucepan. Make sure the saucepan is large enough for the pears to fit snugly in there, with just enough wiggle room for the pears to submerge in the poaching liquid at an angle as well.
- Bring the red wine to a simmer while stirring to dissolve the sugar.
- When the wine comes to a simmer, strain the red wine liquid (IF YOU USED FRESH FRUITS), to remove the seeds or fruit pulp. Discard the seeds and pulp, but NOT the cloves, orange peel and cinnamon. Add the cinnamon, cloves and peel back into the liquid and return the liquid back to the saucepan. You can skip this step if you didn’t use fresh fruits with seeds and pulp.
- Peel the pears ONLY when the poaching liquid is ready (pears will discolor if you peel them too early).
- Lower the peeled pears into the poaching liquid.
- Let the pears poach in the liquid on medium-low heat (simmering) for 20 - 25 minutes, but rotate the pears every 5 minutes to ensure they poach evenly on all sides, including the tops of the pears.
- When the pears have been poached, keep them upright in the poaching liquid, and remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the pears to cool down in the poaching liquid.
- I prefer to serve poached pears chilled, but they can be served at room temperature as well.
- Before serving, remove the pears from the poaching liquid and leave them on a plate, covered with plastic wrap.
- Heat the remaining liquid in the saucepan, and bring it to a simmer. Simmer for a few minutes until the liquid thickens slightly into a syrup. The cooking time depends on how much liquid is left, so keep an eye on it. If the syrup is too thick, add a little water to thin it out.
- Serve the pears on a serving plate, and brush them a little with the syrup to make the pears look shiny (optional).
- Pour a little syrup over individual pears, and serve with some whipped mascarpone cheese or whipped cream.
Tips & Tricks
Nutrition Information:
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patricia nathan says
i am about to make the poached pears…don’t you remove the seeds first?
Dini says
Hi Patricia
I dont remove the seeds when I poach the pears whole. But I do remove the core if I’m poaching pear halves.
LA Wesley says
Excellent recipe especially for someone that hasn’t done this before. I have been putting pairs but it’s been about two years since the last time I did it and I found this recipe extremely helpful. The only thing I do differently is I do not peel my pairs. I use Bosc pears. And I cook them in the oven because it’s always just convenient I do it while I’m cooking other things for the meal I can cook them on either 350 or 375 and they always come out beautiful
Doug dorn says
Great recipe- easy and delicious – gives an elegant dessert with little effort.
Lucy Hipps says
My dad Chef Dietrich use to make this as we were growing up and later for my mom every night but with chocolate
Dini says
Hi Lucy, I’m jealous your dad was a chef and you got to eat these so often growing up! 🙂 I have previously shared a recipe where I stuffed these red wine poached pears with a fruit and nut chocolate filling to make tarts. It’s one of my husband’s favorite desserts too!
Ryda Stuart says
I play with a local symphony of up to 60 people. I have copper/tin pans of good quality and sizes w/a 4 burner stove. How do I handle this? Any suggestions (including don’t try) would be appreciated.
Dini says
Hi Ryda
I’m sorry for the late reply!
You can make this in bulk, but you have to make sure not to crowd the pans with too many pears. You have make them in batches. Another tip is to make sure you have more than enough poaching liquid to keep topping up the saucepans as you poach the pears (the liquid should reach about 2/3 of the way up the pears). You can also make these a day ahead and keep them in the fridge as well.
Good luck & I hope this helps!
lLA Wesley says
Cook them in the oven instead of on the stove top. Or cook part of them in the oven and part of them on the stove top if you use the oven and cook them on 350 or 375 and test them for doneness starting at probably 40 minutes
Cleeo2 says
Elegant & Easy!
My sons really enjoyed them. One son can not eat raw fruit so this was an excellent way for him to have a pear. My only complaint is that I did not make more! Three was not enough.
Dini says
So glad your sons enjoyed them! Thank you so much for letting me know! 🙂
Michelle Kelly says
This was a great recipe. We used blackberry wine to make it and served the pears cold with vanilla ice cream.
Rachel says
How do guests eat this? Steady it with a fork and spice with a knife? Then use a spoon for the ice cream???
Dini says
Hi Rachel
The pears are poached, and should be very easy to slice into. I usually serve this with a spoon only. But if you like, you can serve them with a dessert fork too (if you’re serving it with whipped mascarpone / cream).
Lisa says
I am wanting to do these for guests… how far ahead can I do them? Do they last in the fridge a while?
Dini says
Hi Lisa!
I don’t like keeping them for longer than two days – maybe 3 in the fridge. The fruits have been cooked here, and their texture will continue to change. I’ve found them to not have the same level of freshness after about 3 days.
Hope that helps!
Teri Jundy Burkhardt says
I made these last night for a French themed dinner and everyone RAVED about them. We should have been too full to eat these, but they were so delicious we gobbled them down. They are the perfect ending to a meal. A bit sweet, but not too sweet and light. The mascarpone cheese the perfect pairing.
Sandee says
Used this basic recipe with 2 cups Madiera and 1/2 cup cherry liquor…I know, odd combo but trying to use up stuff in the cabinet. WOW! Loved it, we have a Kieffer pear tree which means the pears have to be refrigerated 3 to 5 weeks to obtain a “cold snap” which they need to ripen. Had to use the refrig. because if we don’t pick them early, the deer and raccoons get ALL of them. What an excellent way to fix them! Try it!
Dini says
Thank you for letting me know Sandee! So glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Beth Lee says
These are stunning, healthy, and delicious. What a wonderful idea for any night but so elegant for entertaining.
Wilhelmina Wessel says
These pears are absolutely gorgeous! What a perfect dish for the holidays!
Marjory says
I’m so excited about this recipe! It’s the perfect recipe to have at the holidays! Festive and kind of healthy too!