Hibiscus Orange Poached Pears
Posted on: October 13, 2022. Updated on: July 11, 2023.
by Carolina Gelen
Pear season is upon us, and this recipe is here to celebrate this versatile fruit. These hibiscus orange poached pears are a dessert with a luxurious feel, requiring very minimal effort. If you’ve boiled a pot of potatoes before, you are more than qualified to make this.
Serve the pears warm, over ice cream, with more syrup on top, cold over oatmeal porridge or yogurt, or take the recipe up a notch by pairing it with homemade vanilla custard. The options are endless!
Don’t discard the leftover liquid, simmer it until it reaches a maple-syrup like consistency and use it as a spiced, tangy, floral and citrusy syrup for your next drink. Pair it with cold seltzer and lemon juice for a refreshing mocktail, or mix it with soda, lemon juice and little gin or vodka for a tasty cocktail.
Hibiscus Orange Poached Pears
Servings: 4
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 8 to 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 4 to 6 pears, preferably firm, not too ripe
- 4 tablespoons hibiscus tea (or teabags)
- 2 cups water
- 3 orange peels or 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice, about 2 to 3 medium oranges
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup honey, maple syrup or 3 tablespoons of sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, or 1/2 vanilla pod, beans scraped
- 2 star anises
Instructions
- Prepare the pears: peel, slice in half lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds.
- To prepare the orange peels, cut around the orange with a sharp knife, avoiding the white pith. You should be left with a a thin, orange peel. If easier, you could zest the orange instead, you’re looking for a 1 teaspoon of zest.
- Prepare the poaching liquid: in a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine water, orange juice, hibiscus tea (bags), sugar, honey, orange peels, vanilla and star anise, if using.
- Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low. Gently submerge the pears in the poaching liquid. Simmer the pears for 8 to 10 minutes, light pink, until softened, and fork tender.
- Pull the pears out of the poaching liquid and place them in a heatproof container. In the meantime, simmer the sauce for 10 more minutes, until reduced and slightly thickened, or to preference.
- Pour the syrup over the pears, straining out remaining tea leaves and spices using a sieve.
- You could serve them right away, but I prefer them cold. Allow them to come to room temperature, then store in the fridge for at least 3 hours before serving.
To serve, plate with yogurt and granola, ice cream and toasted almonds or custard and crumble.
I love it but I cheated!!! I had hibiscus flowers which I made tea but then I decided to put a few drops of my homemade rose syrup…Wow!!! The rest of course was your recipe 😋😊!! I tried it with yogurt, delicious. The next day with vanilla ice cream for dessert 😋😋😋!!!! Thank you, great recipe!!❤️🙏🏻
That sounds absolutely delicious!!!
Hi I love your work. This will be my first time actually making something. Quick question vanilla bean or extract and how much?
Keep up the awesome videos with crunchy sounds!!!
Oupps, forgot to add those measurements! Just edited the recipe 🙂
What are the honey / maple syrup / 3tbsp sugar used for?
For flavoring the syrup!
Me encantaron yo tengo un árbol de peras y siempre estoy buscando ideas cómo preparar postres y mi hija me envió esta receta está riquísima muchas gracias Carolina
de nada, es un placer
Do you think is possible to conserve these pears under syrup? My grandma used to do this, but without the seasoning and they last for months! Thanks for your wonderful recipes they are precious (if you pass in Italy we could cook togheter with my family!)
This would definitely work, as long as the syrup and pears are canned together, otherwise the syrup won’t preserve them for too long 🙂 Also, thank you for the invitation, that would be so much fun 🙂
Hey! I would love to make this but I can’t find the recipe on your website. Can you share a link? All I see is the description and the comments.
sorry im having troubles with my website. sending you an email with it now.
I really want to try this but I don’t like Flower flavours, can I use something else?
I bet earl grey would be delicious!
Que delicia Carolina! Amo ver as suas postagens! Faço contrataria há mais de dez anos e sempre aprendendo! Moro em São Paulo / Brasil e adoro reproduzir o seu conteúdo! Parabéns pelo seu trabalho e sua pessoa! Bjs ❤️❤️❤️