Poire à la Beaujolaise

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Poire à la Beaujolaise
TypeDessert
Place of originFrance
Region or stateBeaujolais
Main ingredientsPear, red wine, sugar

The Poire à la Beaujolaise or pear in wine is a traditional dessert of the wine-growing region of Beaujolais, and belonging to the cuisine of Burgundy and Lyon.

History[edit]

In the early 19th century, a recipe already existed, known as "old wife pear compote". The pears were cooked in a pan with red wine, sugar, a piece of cinnamon and cloves. Once cooked, the pears would develop wrinkles, thus the name "old wife".[1] If the cooking did not result in the desired red color, cochineal was added and a tin spoon placed inside the jar. Gaston Bachelard in his book Rational materialism said, "Tin has the property on enhancing the red color of vegetable matter; this fact is known by cooks, who never fail to put a tin spoon in pear compote, in order to give it a good red color".[2]

Preparation[edit]

To prepare the pears with red wine, a fruity wine (in this case, Beaujolais) should be used. The other ingredients are sugar or honey, cloves, peppercorn, a cinnamon stick, a vanilla pod and orange zest. The mixture is brought to the boil and drained, thus allowing the wine to be reduced. The dessert is served cold or lukewarm.[3]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Poire à la Beaujolaise – the Nosey Chef".
  2. ^ Bachelard, Gaston (1953). Rational Materialism. Presses Universitaires de France. p. 193.
  3. ^ "Poires pochées au vin rouge et aux épices - Recette par Chef Simon".