First peel the pears. Then cut them in half and use a pommes parisienne to remove the core and use a small knife to remove the stem.
Now pour the water into a big pan together with the sugar. Then cut a vanilla pod in half, scrape out the seeds and add them to the pan together with the cinnamon stick and the cardamom seeds. Now also add the cleaned pears flat side down and turn on the heat to caramelize the sugar till golden brown. Turn the pears every now and then.
Once caramelized deglaze the pan with the pear juice and let it simmer on a low heat for around 1 hour. Add some parchment paper to ensure the juice doesn’t vaporize to quickly and it will burn. It’s going to take some time, but you’ll end up with some beautifully cooked pears.
Then remove the spices and transfer the pears into a saucepan. In total they weigh 300 grams. Now also add the whiskey and the agar powder. Then blend it till completely smooth. After that while mixing bring it to a boil for 1 minute.
Now when it has boiled pour it into a bowl and let it cool down in your fridge. Then transfer it into a blender and blend it till smooth.
Now I always vacuum my gels. By doing this you will remove the air bubbles and that will leave you with a lovely clear and intense gel.
You can keep the gel for 3 days in your fridge and if you want to freeze it for a couple of weeks. If frozen be sure to let it defrost in your fridge. This way the gel will keep it's thick texture.
