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Rum Soaked Pear

Poaching is simply cooking something in a flavored liquid (think butter-poached herb chicken). However, fruit poaches wonderfully. In this case, you’re taking the sweet road.
Pears poached in rum make for a pretty presentation on the dinner table. You're starting with firm pears, like bosc and anjou, so they hold their shape. And there’s that nice little hole in the center you can fill with whatever your heart desires. If you’re in a hurry, you can chop the fruit up, making something akin to chunky pear sauce.
This is not a recipe you have to adhere to like glue. As an alternative to pears, you could use peaches or apples. The spices are really up to your tastes. Avoid the spiced rum. You want to be able to create a personalized flavor profile. The result is a dish with a lovely sweet syrup, which (by the way) you can save if there are leftovers. It’s great on pancakes!
Getting To The Core Of It
The key to perfectly textured poached pars is getting out the core correctly. To avoid dense pears. A fruit corer works fine, but you can also use a small knife. Do this before you peel your pears. Cut the pear into two pieces as carefully as possible. Gently coax the core which will snuggle in one of the two sides. Then, peel off the skin.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups water
  • 1 cup sugar (white or brown)
  • 1 tbs vanilla extract
  • ⅓ cup rum
  • 6 firm pears
  • ½ cup preserves (apricot or orange)
  • 2 tbsp water
  • 2 tbsp cornstarch

Instructions 

  • Prepare your pears: Core, peel slice
  • Find a saucepan large enough to hold the pears
  • Turn the stove to medium-high
  • Place water, sugar, rum, and vanilla therein
  • Bring to a boil
  • Add the halves
  • Reduce to medium heat
  • Simmer for 5 minutes (fork tender)
  • Remove the pears
  • Turn the heat up again to medium-high
  • Boil the syrup until it reduces to about 1 cup
  • Stir in the preserves
  • Mix the water and cornstarch into a slurry
  • Add this quickly to the syrup (it will thicken)
  • Put your pears on a serving tray and spoon the sauce over them
  • Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.
  • They have a shelf life of about a week refrigerated