After the fun of poaching some pears the other week, I found myself eyeballing the few peaches in my fruit bowl and wondering how they’d go with similar treatment. They were slightly disappointing as eating fruit – not as juicy and tasty as they smelled – so I was going to cook them either way, and I figured poaching would be a good way of infusing a bit of tenderness and flavour.
The result was quite lovely. The natural peach flavour was enhanced by the cooking process, and complimented beautifully by the mellow vanilla and cinnamon. I think poaching these guys totally saved them.
Cinnamon and vanilla poached peaches
Ingredients:
- 3 ripe peaches, halved, stoned, and peeled
- 1 cup apple juice
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup caster sugar
- 2 cinnamon quills
- 1 vanilla pod
Method:
- Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan (split the vanilla bean first, scrape out the seeds, adding them into the pot, and then throw the pod in too).
![vanilla cinnamon poached peaches 01]()
- Bring to a gentle simmer, then cover and cook for 20-30 minutes, turning at 5 minute intervals, until peaches are tender, and the liquid has turned to a light syrup.
- Serve warm or cold.
Unlike my poached pear recipe, this one produces a very yummy syrup, so spooning a little over your peaches before you eat them is a solid life choice.
As you can see, I’ve done this, then added some yoghurt and flaked almonds to make a really, really good snack.
You can also store these guys in their liquid so they continue to infuse. Just put them in some tupperware, pour the liquid over them, seal them up and stick them in the fridge. They’ll keep for a couple of days, and make for the kind of breakfast that will have you feeling well fancy.