Vanilla-Poached Plum Compote

Name: Vanilla-Poached Plum Compote
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: United States
Ingredients: 500 g ripe plums, halved and pitted, skins on; 100 g granulated sugar; 120 ml water; 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

Also called plum compote, poached plums

Plums poached in a light vanilla syrup, served warm or at room temperature.

Makes: 4 servings

Vegan Gluten-free Make ahead

Reconstructed from memory of the plum compote in Georges Perrier's Le Bec-Fin Recipes (1997)

Ingredients

Scale

Amounts are for the recipe. Sizes, times and temperatures in the method are not scaled.

500 gripe plums, halved and pitted, skins on
100 g½ cupgranulated sugar
120 ml½ cupwater
1vanilla bean, split and scraped

Amounts worked out from the other system are rounded.

Method

Make the vanilla syrup. Combine the sugar (100 g½ cup), the water (120 ml½ cup), and the seeds and pod of the vanilla bean in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer and stir until the sugar has dissolved, about 3 minutes.
Poach the plums. Add the plums (500 g), cut side down. Lower to a gentle simmer and poach until tender but still holding their shape, 8 to 15 minutes depending on ripeness. Test with the tip of a knife and take them out the moment they yield.
Reduce the syrup. Lift the plums out with a slotted spoon. Simmer the syrup until it thickens slightly and coats a spoon, about 5 minutes. Discard the pod.
Return the plums to the warm syrup. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

This is a compote, not jam. The plums should stay whole in a clear vanilla syrup. Firmer plums hold their shape; very ripe ones slump, so check early.
Keeps several days refrigerated, and the flavor deepens overnight.
As an ice cream ribbon, as in Crème Anglaise Ice Cream with Plum Ribbon, change three things or it turns icy and bleeds: leave out the water, or use only a splash; reduce it much harder, to a thick, glossy, mounding consistency; and raise the sugar to 130 to 140 g so it stays soft in the freezer.