Poached Pears (Poached Anyfruit)

I like pears, and it certainly seems to be a good time for them, judging by the store's produce section. However, I've never been a big fan of the texture of the flesh. Poached pears are more homogeneous, texture-wise, plus they are more soft and delicate.

Pears pair well with ginger, so the first question - cooking liquid - is easily answered: Real ginger ale. You know, the kind sometimes labeled ginger "beer." Though it is non-alcoholic, the stringency of it does justify the alternative nomenclature.

The second question is this: To peel, or not to peel? After poaching, I find the skin of the pear is tough and leathery, and quickly discolors unappealingly. On the plus-side, especially with red pears, the skin can impart its pigment to the outside layer of the poached pear, tinging it a gentle pink - almost like the smoke ring on low-slow barbequed meat. It's beautiful. However, in the end, I opt for skin off. If I do whole red pears, I might leave the skin on, since I could more easily remove it in one big go, but other than that - 3/8in. thick skinless slices are how I'll do it.

I pour about 3/8in. of ginger beer into the bottom of a skillet or wide-bottomed pan, and bring it up to a simmer. Then I add about a tablespoon of sugar. When that is dissolved, I lay the pear slices in and let them cook in a bare simmer for about 4 minutes. Then I turn them over and cook 2-3 minutes more. I want them to still be a bit firm when they come out of the poaching liquid, but obviously soft from cooking. In other words - don't cook them till they look poached. That's overcooked.

When I remove the pears, I put them in an ice-water bath to cease the cooking process, and prepare them for the fridge. This may remove some of the nice syrup from the outside, but they will be rejoined with much more of it later, so I figure it's okay.

For each additional batch, I add however much more ginger beer is needed to make the bath approximately the same depth as the slices. If many batches are cooked, a bit more sugar might be added later.

Finally, after all the slices are cooked, I leave the remaining liquid over med-low heat and watch as it reduces. As soon as it is slightly thickened (bubbles seem to shrink instead of pop, and when agitated, the whole pan become golden bubbly), I remove the syrup to an ice-cooled metal bowl for brief cooling. It should still be fluidy and pourable at this point. If you want actual pear syrup (like maple syrup), reduce it more and don't bother with the cooling - just put it straight into the syrup vessel. But what we are doing it making a light syrup for the pears to live in, so keep that in mind. Once it's cooled a bit, pour it over the pears and refridgerate. Have them with anything.