Magnolia Oolong Poached Pears

Pears are poached in a glorious magnolia scented oolong and drenched in a magnolia-pear-honey reduction for a simple, delicate, unexpected dessert.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Canadian

Keyword #magnoliaoolong, #oolong, #pearseason, #poachedpears

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1

Ingredients

½ cup magnolia oolong loose leaf tea
4 cups water
6 Bosc pears
1 cup pear juice
½ cup honey

Instructions

Bring water to a boil. Let cool to 85°C (185°F) and add tea. Let sit for 3 minutes, then remove tea leaves and set aside.
Peel pears, then slice pears in half, coring with a melon baller. Place pears in tea, bring tea to a boil. Turn heat down to medium and simmer for 2 minutes, or until a knife goes in easily.
Remove pears with a slotted spoon to a drying rack.
Bring tea back to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Reduce by half, then add in pear juice and honey, and continue reduce to 1 cup.
Remove pears to a dish, middle facing down. Brush occasionally with reducing liquid. When it is reduced to one cup, baste the pears again.
Drizzle the remaining rediuction over the pears. Serve right away, or store for another day.

Notes

Use reserved tea leaves to make tea to serve alongside the pears. Fine quality oolong can be re-steeped at least a half a dozen times.

To make the tea again, heat filtered water to 85°C (185°F) and pour over tea leaves. Always bring the water to the tea, not the other way around. Steep for 3-4 minutes, then strain into teapot. (For a first steeping, try 2 -3 minutes.) Do not leave the tea in the water too long—it will become too bitter.

Jasmine tea would be lovely in this recipe. A white tea is often too delicate to impart much flavour, so I'd recommend a jasmine oolong or green tea, but experiment as you please. The cost of the tea will likely guide any decisions.

Try this recipe with a chai blend, or Earl Grey, or blackcurrant tea with blackcurrant juice or syrup instead of honey and juice.

You could also make pears sous vide with a few tea leaves and some honey - omit the juice, as the pears will create their own juices as they cook. Sealed in a vacuum-packed bag, sous vide pears can be prepared a week in advance.