Watch How to Perfect Your Poach
Poaching is a cooking technique seen often on menus but rarely in practice. “It’s a term we hear a lot, but not one we necessarily do a lot,” says chef Vivian Howard.
Howard, who stars of the PBS series, “A Chef’s Life,” demonstrates how to properly poach food in this video. She says the key to poaching is bringing your liquid to a gentle simmer. Think “little tiny bubbles rising to the surface, not a giant rolling boil or very high heat.”
For poaching most foods except for eggs, you must add flavor to the liquid base. “You want the ingredient that you’re poaching to take on the flavor of that liquid,” Howard explains.
The North Carolina-based chef poaches pears in a delicious combination of white wine, orange zest, black peppercorn, vanilla bean and sugar.
When poaching food, says Howard, “the end product is never mushy. It’s always tender with just a little texture.” See Howard’s recipe for poaching pears below.
Credits: Produced by Markay Media/Deep Run Productions; Featuring Vivian Howard; culinary producer: Sheri Castle; Music by Justin Robinson
Poached Pears
(makes 6 servings)
1 orange
6 firm, ripe pears
3 cups water
3 cups Riesling wine
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon whole peppercorns
1 vanilla bean
3 tablespoons pear liqueur or brandy (optional)
Remove a 1 inch-wide strip of orange zest with a vegetable peeler; set aside. Squeeze the orange juice into a large bowl. Add enough water to cover the pears as they are peeled. Working with one pear at a time, peel, cut in half lengthwise, and remove the core with a melon baller. Add the pear halves to the bowl of orange water to prevent browning.
Stir together the 3 cups water, wine, sugar, peppercorns, and reserved orange zest in a large saucepan. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise, scrape out the black seed with the tip of a knife and add to the pan. Drop in the pod. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain the pears and submerge them in the wine mixture. Return to a gentle simmer (don’t let it boil) and poach the pears until they are tender when pierced with the tip of a paring knife, about 20 minutes. Remove pears from pan with a slotted spoon; cover and chill.
Bring cooking liquid to a boil over high heat; cook until syrupy and reduced to 1 cup, about 20 minutes. Strain through a sieve into a bowl; cover and chill. Stir in the liqueur, if using. Spoon a little liquid over the pears just before serving.
For more on chef Vivian Howard, check out these stories:
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