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Joyce's Pears Supreme

"I asked for this family recipe after having it for the first time at my friend's home after a summer lunch. I didn't think I could fit dessert after a wonderful, filling meal, but this was so light and just enough sweet that I had to have the recipe! So easy to make, yet looks fancy. Enjoy!"

By allrecipes · From Open Recipes · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Pear and vanilla match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and 334 recipes mention both. Both carry ethyl isobutyrate, which smells fruity, ethereal. The science ↓

The recipe

8 servings
Prep30 min

Ingredients

Contains: egg, milk (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

Directions

Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.

  1. Drain the pear halves well and pat them dry with paper towels. Arrange them cut side up in a shallow serving dish.

  2. Melt the butter in a small bowl or in a microwave and set it aside to cool slightly.

  3. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the heavy cream, beaten pasteurized egg, confectioners' sugar, cocoa powder and vanilla extract until smooth.

  4. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens enough to coat a spoon and reaches 160°F (71°C). Do not let it boil.

  5. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the melted butter until fully combined.

  6. Spoon the warm sauce over the pear halves, dust with a little extra cocoa powder if desired, and chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.

By allrecipes. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

  1. Pear + vanillatop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together334 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).

  2. Cream + buttertop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together41,494 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  3. Sugar + vanillatop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlaplow
    Mentioned together35,031 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  4. Cocoa powder + vanillatop 4% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together2,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

  5. Cocoa powder + creamtop 5% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together825 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

Sugar and vanilla share little aroma chemistry, yet 35,031 recipes mention both: they likely work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs