gewürztraminer poached pears

Poaching: the process of simmering food  in liquid, usually milk, stock or wine. 

In thinking back to how I wanted to use my beautiful bosc pears, I started researching a dessert featuring pears. And wine. Wine and Pears. What could be better? There are so many different version of this beautiful dessert, I wanted to come up with my own take on this classic.

For my dessert, I chose a nice bottle of Gewürztraminer. Pronounced gə-ˈvu̇rt-ˌstra-mə-nər, or “Gewürz” for short. Gewürztraminer is an aromatic, off-dry white wine with old world roots in the Alsace region of France and in Germany. This cool climate wine has also expanded into North America, including British Columbia. I decided to try a Gewürz from the See Ya Later winery located in the Okanagan region right here in beautiful British Columbia.

2010 Gewürztraminer

This wine displays a spicy aroma of lychee fruit and rose petal, blossom and hints of pink grapefruit. Our Gewürztraminer bursts with rich, exotic flavours of lychees and ripe melons to match it’s crisp acidity and off-dry finish.

I thought the flavours of lychee and rose pedal, would work nicely in my dessert.

A quick note about cooking with wine. I have a simple rule of thumb in choosing a wine to cook with: if you wouldn’t choose it to drink, don’t choose it to cook with. You don’t have to break the bank, but you want the flavours from the wine to add to your dish, so choose a nice wine. Think about the flavours in your food. If you are cooking red meat or a savoury flavourful dish, a bold peppery shiraz  or earthy cabernet sauvignon works well. For more delicate flavors in dessert dishes, think about trying an off-dry white such as gewürztraminer or riesling with melon, floral and fruit aromas.

My kitchen smelled pretty darn amazing cooking this beautiful dessert. The warm aromas of cinnamon and vanilla filled the air. It was a perfect, light dessert for a chilly, wet fall day.

Gewürztraminer Poached Pears

5 cups water
3 cups Gewürztraminer or Riesling, or sweet white wine of choice
2 cinnamon sticks
1 vanilla pod, split with seeds reserved
1/4 cup liquid honey
2 slightly firm but ripe Bosc pears

Combine water, wine, vanilla, honey and cinnamonin a pot and bring to a boil. While sauce is heating, gently peel the pears, leaving stem intact. Cut pears in half lenghtwise. Using a melon baller, gently remove the core.

Once liquid has reached a boil, gently place pears in pot and reduce heat to medium. Simmer pears, covered, for 25 to 30 minutes or until just tender. Remove pears from heat and let cool in the liquid.

Once cool, carefully remove pears with a slotted spoon from the syrup and set aside. Remove cinnamon stick and vanilla bean pod, and return liquid to medium-high heat. Reduce liquid to about half until a thick syrup forms.

Serve syrup over pears.

2 servings

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