Mulled Wine Poached Pears

There’s something about a warm pear dessert during the holiday season, and Coryanne from our Kitchen Council is sharing one of her favorite ways to enjoy them: Mulled Wine Poached Pears.

As far as I am concerned, the mulled wine season begins the moment you eat all the Thanksgiving leftovers and does not end until you put away your winter scarves. But then, I’m biased. I’ve been a long converted fan of mulled wine and look for any occasion to add it to any recipe given half the chance. For me, mulled wine is Christmas in a glass, garnished with the zest of a Clementine peel and the pop of a cinnamon stick, it’s laughter, it’s glasses clinking in a crowded room, and warm hands cupping an eclectic mug because no one really ever has enough matching glasses for everyone.

Mulled wine as a poaching agent for pears is nothing short of brilliant and captivating. It creates this rich color and aroma that blankets the pears and leaves them radiant, almost too pretty to eat. But when you do, your spoon cuts through a soft tender flesh that oozes with holiday spirit and if you take my advice and make a mulled wine reduction, you will fight the urge to lick the plate.

As beautiful as they look, mulled wine poached pears take very little active time to prepare, the bulk of the work comes from prepping the mulled wine. Which is why I tend to make two batches of mulled wine; one for drinking and one for cooking that I keep in our fridge for occasions like poached pears.

From our house to yours, happy holidays!