Portuguese Red-Wine Poached Pears
Also known as: Portuguese Red-Wine Poached Pears · Drunken Pears · Pears in Red Wine
Whole pears stained ruby by slow poaching in red wine, sugar and warm spices.
- Origin
- Portugal · nationwide home and restaurant dessert
- Region
- Nationwide
- Season
- Autumn and winter · also served cold in summer
Pêras Bêbedas is a Portuguese fruit dessert in which pears are peeled but kept whole, stems attached, and slowly poached in red wine and sugar. Cinnamon, cloves, star anise and orange or lemon peel perfume the liquid, which penetrates the flesh and stains it wine red.
The fruit should become tender while holding its shape. Once removed, the poaching liquid may be reduced until glossy and gently thickened. The pears are served warm or cold, plain or with some reduction, and are defined by their whole silhouette and uniform ruby colour.
- Firm pears
- Red wine
- Sugar
- Cinnamon
- Cloves
- Optional star anise and citrus peel
Tender juicy fruit, concentrated wine, moderate sweetness and warm spice.
The spice blend varies and some recipes enrich the syrup with Port. Cream, ice cream or custard may accompany them, although the plain presentation is the clearest.
In Portuguese restaurants and family homes throughout the country, especially in autumn and winter.
Their own wine reduction, a small glass of tawny Port or coffee.
Combining fruit, wine, sugar and spices belongs to a broad European tradition, but Pêras Bêbedas became established in Portugal as a classic home and restaurant dessert. Abundant red wine and the Portuguese taste for simple fruit sweets helped anchor the recipe in the national repertoire.
Current culinary sources explicitly identify it as a traditional Portuguese sweet, although they do not provide a demonstrable region, date or inventor. Its identity is culinary and national rather than a protected geographical designation.
Sources: teleculinaria.pt
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