Compote is a transparent sweet drink brewed with fresh, frozen or dried berries and fruits. It has a rich vitamin and mineral composition and is prepared according to several different recipes, the best of which will be described in today's article.
Practical tips
For cooking compotes, it is advisable to use only high-quality plant materials. Most often, apples, pears, plums, cherries, currants, nectarines or cranberries are used for these purposes. In order for a dessert drink to acquire a pleasant balanced taste, it is recommended to combine sweet and sour fruits for its preparation.
Purchased or plucked fruits must be pretreated. They are sorted out, freed from leaves and stalks and washed thoroughly in running water. Frozen raw materials are kept for a short time at room temperature to thaw slightly, and dried fruits are pre-soaked in cold water.
As for the amount of water and sugar, it depends on the mass of fruits used. It is important that a quarter of the pan is filled with plant material. For each liter of water, it is recommended to add 150 grams of sugar.
Since stewed fruit is a decoction of fruits or berries, it must be cooked. The duration of boiling depends on the fruits used. If pears and apples have to be cooked for at least half an hour, then strawberries or raspberries can simply be poured with hot syrup. To enhance the taste and aroma, cinnamon, honey, vanilla, citric acid or citrus zest are often added to a drink. Before use, it is insisted for at least ten hours.
Cherry compote
This delicious and aromatic drink has refreshing properties. It has a pleasant acidity and a rich red tint. To prepare it, you will need:
- A pound of cherries.
- 2 liters of water.
- 10 tablespoons of sugar.
- Vanillin (to taste).
This is one of the most delicious and healthy compotes for children. Before its preparation, the cherries are carefully sorted out, throwing spoiled berries, washed and freed from stones. Then it is laid out in a pan with boiling syrup, consisting of water, regular and vanilla sugar. All this is boiled over low heat for ten minutes, and then removed from the stove, covered with a lid and insisted for several hours.
Apple and pumpkin compote
This is one of the simplest recipes for homemade winter preparations. To stock up on a tasty and aromatic drink, you will need:
- 5 glasses of water.
- 300 grams of pumpkin pulp.
- A pair of ripe apples.
- ½ cup sugar.
- One handful of raisins, prunes and dried apricots.
- Cinnamon (to taste).
In one pan combine water and sugar. There they add cinnamon and bring it all to a boil. Dried fruits are carefully immersed in simmering syrup and the fire is reduced. Ten minutes later, pieces of pumpkin and apples are placed in a common pan. The drink is boiled until the fruit softens, and then it is poured into sterile containers. Stewed fruit compote in jars, corked with metal lids, in any cool place. In this form, it long saves its taste and does not lose useful properties.
Apple compote with lemon and clove
This drink has a pleasant sweet and sour taste with light citrus notes. It has a wonderful refreshing effect and is not bad stored for a long time. Since this recipe for apple compote for the winter provides for the presence of not quite standard components, check in advance if you have it at hand:
- 2.5 liters of water.
- 600 grams of sugar.
- 3 kilos of ripe apples.
- 2 buds of cloves.
- A whole lemon.
- Cinnamon (to taste).
Washed and peeled apples are cut into slices, blanched in boiling water and put in sterile jars. Lemon cut into circles is added there. Sugar, cinnamon and cloves are sent to the liquid in which the fruits are blanched. All this is brought to a boil and simmer for a short time over low heat. The finished syrup is filtered through cheesecloth and poured into jars with slices of apples and lemon. Banks are corked with lids and sterilized for twenty minutes.
Apple and Apricot Compote
This fortified drink will surely appeal to both large and small gourmets. It consists of a wide range of fruit and berry raw materials, so it turns out not only tasty, but also incredibly useful. Since this recipe for apple compote for the winter involves the use of several varieties of fruits at once, first make sure that there are:
- 2 liters of water.
- 300 grams of sugar.
- 5 ripe apples.
- 200 grams of raspberries.
- 8 apricots.
Washed fruit is separated from the seeds and put in clean jars. Raspberries and boiling water are added there. All this is left for fifteen minutes. After the designated time, the liquid is poured into a pan, sweetened and boiled until sugar is completely dissolved. Hot syrup is sent in containers with fruit and berry mixture. Banks are closed with metal covers, wrapped in a blanket and left in this form until cool.
Compote with melon
This aromatic drink is prepared on the basis of several varieties of fruits. Therefore, before you start cooking it, be sure to see if you have everything you need. You will need:
- Ripe peach.
- Big pear.
- 100 grams of dates.
- Half a lemon.
- 300 grams of melon.
- 2.5 liters of water.
- 130 grams of sugar.
- Cinnamon stick
- 3 grains of cardamom.
Water is poured into a large saucepan and sent to the stove. As soon as it boils, sugar, spices, citrus zest and dates are added to it. After a couple of minutes, slices of peaches, pears and melons are loaded into the same place and continue to cook. Shortly before the completion of the process, lemon juice is squeezed into a common pot. The finished drink is infused under the lid, and then poured into glasses.
Strawberry compote
This is an interesting and healthy drink, prepared using a very simple technology. His recipe is interesting in that it does not involve the thermal treatment of berries. To play it you need:
- ¾ cup sugar.
- 500 grams of ripe strawberries.
- 5 glasses of water.
Washed berries are covered with a little sugar and put in a cold place. Syrup is boiled from the water and the remaining sweet sand and strawberries are poured into it. A practically finished drink is infused under the lid and only then served to the table.
Prune compote
According to the method described below, a very aromatic and healthy decoction of dried fruits is obtained. It has a unique vitamin composition and is recommended for pregnant women and people suffering from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. To prepare such a compote you will need:
- 200 grams of prunes.
- 2 tablespoons of sugar.
- 3 glasses of water.
Sorted prunes are poured with boiling water, and then laid out in a saucepan filled with clean drinking water. Pour the required amount of sugar there and send it all to a working stove. The future drink is brought to a boil and simmered for ten minutes.
Watermelon compote
This aromatic and refreshing drink is perfect for quenching thirst. To prepare it, you will need:
- 1.5 cups of water.
- Ripe watermelon.
- 3 cups of sugar.
- The juice of one lemon.
From the washed and cut watermelon, the pulp is removed and put in a saucepan. Water, sugar and citrus juice are added there. All this is sent to a working stove, brought to a boil and cooked for no more than four minutes. A fully prepared drink is insisted under the lid, cooled and poured into glasses.