November 09, 2025

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The Olive Twist, a culinary boutique and online retailer, allows you to taste and match over 25 olive oils and 25 of Italy's finest aged balsamic vinegar condimentos to your personal palate.

We encourage you to create your own twist and enjoy the experimentation of flavor fusions. As a bonus, our samplings are rich in antioxidants that add to our health benefits without losing the quality of flavor.

Elegant Poached Pears

Elegant Poached Pears

4 pears, peeled and bottoms leveled to stand up straight

1 cup sugar

2 OT cinnamon sticks

Orange peel from one orange

3 OT star anise

1 vanilla pod or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

750ml white wine

Water (enough to cover pears)

For the Cream Cheese Sauce:

8 oz cream cheese or mascarpone cheese

2/3 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste

Ground pistachios for garnish for garnish

1 Tbsp choice OT balsamic vinegar for flavorful finish (I like cinnamon pear), optional

Remove any seeds from the pear using a small spoon.

Place the pears in a pot with sugar, spices, wine, and enough water to cover them. Cook over medium-low heat for 30-45 minutes, or until tender.

Remove the pears, strain the liquid, reduce the liquid to a syrupy reduction, about 15-18 minutes. Cool the pears and reduction to room temperature, then refrigerate.

Whip all cream cheese sauce ingredients until smooth and refrigerate until serving.

Layer the whipped cheese, pear, syryp, nuts and drizzle with balsamic right before serving.