Having some fresh, seasonal fruit is a wonderful way to end a meal. Even better is to have honey poached peaches to end your meal. Simple, elegant, and full of summer flavor!
Hello, all! We are having absolutely gorgeous weather here, which has me in the mood to share a few late summer recipes.
Because I still have a little time to enjoy local peaches! And I want to share them with you. At least the recipes. You’ll have to get your own peaches. š
Peaches are seriously one of my favorite fruits. They are just below the berries in my fruit hierarchy, since I can never resist a berry.
But ripe peaches are just sooo good for eating out of hand or for using in recipes that I’m all excited to share this recipe for poached peaches! Not only do you get beautiful, tender peaches which can be used in all sorts of dessert and breakfast recipes, but you also get the amazing syrup to go with them. Bonus!
Oooh…before I get to the recipe, I’d like to point out the vintage margarita glasses I bought recently. It’s Blendo glassware which was popular in the 50s and 60s of last century. And I love it! I have these green glasses and I have peach ones as well.
Maybe I need to come up with a new margarita recipe? Until then, they are perfect for these spiced poached peaches.
How Do You Make Honey Poached Peaches?
To make Moscato and honey poached peaches, start by making a syrup of whole spices, orange peels, Moscato white wine, and honey. Then add the peaches and simmer gently until they are tender. Remove the peaches to cool, strain and reduce the syrup, and serve.
- Add the wine and honey to a saucepan large enough for the peaches.
- Add the whole spices and orange peel.
- Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the halved peaches and simmer gently until the peaches are tender.
- Remove the peaches to a bowl.
- Strain the syrup and boil to reduce by half.
Tip: Before I go through the steps in more detail, it is important to know that it can take anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes to poach peaches. It’s all about how ripe they are! Ripe, with some give, but still firm will be in the 12-15 minute range.
Pour the wine into your medium saucepan (big enough for the peaches to sit in a single layer!), then add the honey. Count out your whole spices into the saucepan and peel off two strips of orange peel.
Bring everything to a boil and let it simmer and infuse for 10 minutes.
While your syrup is infusing, slice your peaches in half. Then lever off the pit from the other half. I use a fork to get underneath.
Tip: Alternatively, if you are going to slice up the peaches anyway, cut the peaches into quarters and take the pit off that way.
Now add your peaches to the syrup and bring it back to a boil. Then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 5-20 minutes. It’s a big range I know, but it will all depend on how ripe your peaches are. Once the peaches are fork tender and peels are starting to come off, that’s when they are ready.
Scoop out the poached peaches with a slotted spoon and let them cool. Once they are cool enough to handle, pull of the peels.
Then strain the syrup and discard the spices. Add it back to the saucepan and boil it down until reduced by about half. It will be all thick and the bubbles will be stacking on top of each other in the pot as it boils.
Set the syrup aside to cool.
When you are ready to use the peaches, you can have them as halves with mascarpone, ice cream, or whipped cream along with some of the syrup. Or have them over cake, on pancakes, on waffles, or anywhere else you want to use some poached peaches.
Other Recipes Using Peaches
Looking for some other recipes for peaches? Then you’re in luck! I have drinks, savory recipes, and desserts. Peaches are wonderfully versatile and I love using them in all sorts of recipes.
If you want a drink, you can’t go wrong with a White Peach Sangria. It’s great for a crowd! Another option is a Frozen Peach Margarita which uses a quick, peach puree. Or maybe you want a frozen drink? My Peach and Bourbon Cocktail is so refreshing.
For savory recipes, a couple of favorites of mine are my Grilled Peaches with Burrata and my Peach and Blueberry Spinach Salad. Yum!
And then, of course, there are desserts: Peach Buckle, Raspberry Peach Clafoutis, and my easy Fresh Peach Snack Cake are a few the sweet treats I’ve made with peaches.
If you try my recipe for Honey Poached Peaches, I would love to hear from you in the comments with your experience and rating! And Iām happy to answer any questions you might have.
You can connect with me by subscribing to my emails (see the form in the sidebar or below the recipe card), liking my FACEBOOK page, or by following me on PINTEREST.
– Happy Poaching, Annemarie
Moscato Wine and Honey Poached Peaches
Ingredients
- 2 cups Moscato wine, or other sweet white wine
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 8-10 allspice berries
- 4 cardamom pods
- 8-10 peppercorns
- 2 strips orange zest, about 1/2 inch wide 4-5 inches long
- 4 ripe but firm peaches
Instructions
- Use a saucepan just large enough to hold the peaches in a single layer. Add the Moscato, honey, cinnamon, allspice, cardamom, peppercorns, and orange zest.
- Bring the syrup to a boil. Lower the heat and keep it at a simmer for 10 minutes.
- While the syrup is simmering, prepare the peaches. Cut each peach in half. Pry the pit out of the peach half.
- Add the peaches to the syrup and bring to a simmer. Poach until the peels are starting to come away from the peaches and the peaches are tender when you pierce them. This will take anywhere from 5-20 minutes, though for ripe but firm peaches it will take 12-15 minutes.
- Remove the peaches to a bowl with a slotted spoon and let cool. Once cool, remove the skins.
- Strain the spices out of the syrup. Return the syrup to the saucepan and bring to a rolling boil. Boil until reduced by about half, the bubbles are stacking themselves on top of each other, and the syrup coats a spoon.
- Take the syrup off the heat and allow to cool.
- Both the peaches and syrup can be refrigerated until you are ready to serve them. (They will stay good for about 2 days in the fridge.)
- To serve, set out the peach halves in bowls or dessert cups. Pour some of the syrup over. Top with ice cream, mascarpone cheese, or whipped cream.
Notes
- Removing the pit: If you are not concerned with having perfect peach halves for your recipe, feel free to cut the peaches into quarters. This makes removing the pit much easier.
- Cling-stone peaches: For cling-stone peaches, cut around the equator of the peach and not from top to bottom. This will allow even very clingy pits to release.
- Serving: Poached peaches can be served by themselves as a simple, but elegant, dessert or used as part of another recipe. You can serve them over cake, on pancakes, on cheesecake, in a parfait, or anywhere else you would enjoy tender, spiced peaches.
- Mascarpone: If you wish to use the mascarpone, mix 4 oz of mascarpone with about 1 tablespoon of the reduced poaching syrup. Dollop the mascarpone over the peaches.
Cheryl says
How about pears? Peaches are past prime here now .
justalittlebitofbacon says
Cheryl, I’ve used this syrup with a few different fruits, and I’m sure it will work with pears as well. If you want a recipe specifically for pears, I do have Poached Pears Recipe on the site. I’ll be interested to know if you try either recipe. š