Poire Tapée

Poires tapées are a Touraine specialty centred on Rivarennes, where flattened pears are recorded from the 16th century. Production surged in the 19th century, when phylloxera destroyed the vines and forced growers to diversify; the dried pears were exported as far as northern Europe. A romantic account credits returning Crusaders with bringing fruit-drying techniques home, but this is folklore, not documented history. Two world wars, imported fruit and industrialisation nearly extinguished the craft, until it was revived at Rivarennes at the end of the 20th century, where a dedicated 'Maison de la Poire Tapée' keeps the tradition alive.

Dry from the rack, the pear is leathery, dark amber, intensely sweet and faintly caramelised, chewy like a fat dried fig. Poached back to life in wine it turns supple and juicy, the flesh stained deep red-purple, the syrup heady with cinnamon. The flavour is concentrated pear — far more than a fresh one — rounded by the wine's tannin and warm spice. Served a few to a bowl with their syrup, sometimes a spoon of cream alongside.

Drying is preservation by water removal: slow dehydration in gradually heated wood ovens drives moisture out of the peeled pears until they are too dry for microbes to spoil, while concentrating sugars and developing caramel notes. Flattening with the press both speeds even drying and gives the characteristic disc shape, and squeezes the dense flesh together for keeping. Rehydration reverses the process — the dried flesh reabsorbs wine and slowly swells and softens during a gentle poach, taking on the liquid's colour, tannin and spice as it plumps.