Spiced Red Wine Pear Compote
Tender pear wedges simmered in red wine with cinnamon and star anise, then reduced to a glossy syrup. A light French-style fruit dessert that is naturally not spicy.
- Total
- 37 min
- Prep 10 · Cook 27
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Simmering · Reducing
- Sweet
- French
- Stovetop
Instructions
-
Peel the 4 pears, halve them lengthwise and scoop out the cores with the small knife. Cut each half into 1.5 cm wedges.
~10 min
Choose pears that are ripe but still firm; very soft ones collapse during simmering and turn to mush.
-
Put the 400 ml red wine, 100 ml water, 80 g sugar, 1 cinnamon piece and 2 star anise pieces into the medium saucepan. Warm over medium heat, stirring with the wooden spoon, until the sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes.
~3 min
Warming the liquid first dissolves sugar evenly and lets the spices begin infusing before the pears go in.
-
Slide the pear wedges into the liquid. Bring to a gentle simmer, then lower the heat so the surface barely bubbles. Cook until the pears are tender and a knife slips in with no resistance, 12 to 15 minutes.
~15 min
A bare simmer keeps the pears intact; a hard boil would make them break apart and turn mushy.
Simmering Keep the liquid at a bare bubble, not a rolling boil. If the pears start to break apart, the heat is too high.
-
Lift the pears out with the slotted spoon into the serving bowls, leaving the liquid in the pan.
~2 min
-
Raise the heat and boil the liquid until it thickens into a glossy syrup that coats the back of the spoon, 4 to 6 minutes. Remove the cinnamon and star anise.
~6 min
Boiling evaporates water and concentrates sugar, so the liquid thickens into a syrup that clings to the fruit.
The syrup thickens further as it cools, so pull it off the heat while it still looks slightly loose.
Reducing Boil the liquid until it coats the back of a spoon. Pull it off while still slightly loose, as it thickens more as it cools.
-
Spoon the warm syrup over the pears and serve.
~1 min