Pears in red wine are a scenic and unusual dessert, surprising in its elegance. The special sous vide cooking, at a low temperature, ensures that the pears remain soft and juicy, without losing their texture in the bite.
The paternity of this dessert is disputed between Italy and France; it is thought that the first pears in red wine were invented in the Kingdom of Savoy, which included Piedmont, Valle d’Aosta and part of French territories. Among the most widely used wines are Bracchetto, Barbera, Burgundy and Pinot Noir.
Pears in red wine
Ingredients
- 16 Williams pears (small)
- 1 l red wine
- 10 g orange peel
- 1 g juniper berries
- 1 g cinnamon (stick)
- 4 cloves
- 1 g star anise
- 300 g sugar
Instructions
Preparation
- Start the blast chiller with the pre-coolingcycle at -15°C.
- Boil the wine with the sugar and spices until itis reduced by 1/3.
- Place the reduction pot in the blast chiller,insert the core probe inside the pot (with the tip immersed in the reduction)and start the probe chilling cycle with the following parameters:– probe temperature: +3°C– cell temperature: -8°C– ventilation: 100%
Cooking
- Once the blast chilling cycle is complete, startthe pre-heating cycle at 85°C, with active humidity.
- Place 4 peeled pears (leave the stalk) and 1/4of the previously obtained reduction in a vacuum bag. Repeat the operationuntil 4 vacuum pouches are obtained.
- Condition the bags, place them in the blastchiller and start the timed cooking cycle with the following parameters:– duration: 25'– cell temperature: 85°C– ventilation: 100%– humidity: lvl 5
- Set the blast chiller to +3°C at the end ofcooking and blast chill the pears in wine, leaving them inside the vacuumpouches together with their liquids.
- They can then be stored in the refrigerator forno longer than 21 days.
How to serve pears in red wine?
Red wine pears are an ideal spiced dessert for the autumn season.
They can be served on their own, in a beautiful setting, or accompanied by other sweet ingredients such as custard, crumble and a scoop of ice cream, cinnamon-flavoured ricotta cream or plain whipped cream. The French version of pears in wine prefers Chantilly cream, flavoured with orange peel.
