Compote mix is seasonal fruits dried in the oven or in an electric dryer, from which hostesses compote in summer. Such blanks are very convenient to use, stored all year round. If you independently dry your favorite apples, plums, pears, apricots or peaches in the summer, you can cook delicious and fragrant compotes throughout the winter and spring.
Traditional Uzvars for Christmas and Easter are brewed from a compote mix. The drink is incredibly rich, although it requires longer preparation than a compote of fresh fruits. The color of compote depends on the constituent components. If the mixture contains prunes and pears, then the drink turns out to be saturated brown.
If you do not have the opportunity to dry your fruit yourself, then sets with dried fruit compote mixes are easy to purchase at any supermarket or market. The choice of goods is huge, because the villagers either sell the whole harvest or sell it fresh or dry it for winter trade. In villages and villages, it is easier to dry sliced fruits.
How to dry fruits?
To make a compote mix at home, use either an oven in which the temperature is set at 60 ° C, or purchase an electric dryer. This is a convenient thing, but the drying process is long, it takes from 8 to 12 hours, depending on the juiciness of the fruit. Apples and pears dry the fastest, it takes longer to tinker with apricots and fleshy plums.
You can also use drying to harvest berries, such as viburnum or blueberries. In order to make a compote mix, you need to wash the fruit and cut them into thin circles or slices. After the end of the process, the device is turned off from the network, but dried fruit is left on the grates overnight. In the morning you can collect them in linen bags and store in a dry place.
How is fleshy fruit dried?
Apricots and plums must be prepared before being sent to the oven. There are several secrets that we will share later in the article:
- Apricots need to be washed and halved, removing the seed. Then they need to be soaked in water with the addition of lemon juice (1 liter - 1 lemon juice), you can replace it with 0.5 tsp. citric acid. This is done so that the fruits do not turn black after drying. They should acquire a light brown tint.
- Plums are washed and completely soaked in boiling water with the addition of 1 tsp. soda for 30 seconds. Then rinse them well under wastewater. It is easier to dry the drain by dividing the fetus in half and at the same time, remove the bone.
Drying time for fleshy fruits is much longer than, for example, apples. First set the temperature to 45 degrees and dried for 6 hours. Then let stand for a couple of hours and continue drying in the same mode. Let the fruits stand and rest, and then add heat by setting 70 degrees. Dried another 12 hours. This can go on for a long time. Juicy whole fruits are dried for about a week. If you want to speed up the process, cut them into thin slices. The taste of compote from a compote mix will not change on the size of the constituent ingredients. If a precipitate forms, then before serving it can be filtered through a strainer or gauze.
GOST 32896-2014
If you do not want to spend so much time and effort on the independent preparation of dried fruits, then when buying pre-packaged mixes in stores, check the manufacturing time printed on the packaging, storage conditions and check the GOST number of the compote mix. It must comply with state standards and technical specifications when performing procurement.
If you buy open-air drying from your grandmothers in the market, then touch dried fruits with your hand. They should be dry and not stick to your hands. Bend the slice in half and press down with your fingers, the halves should not stick together. Pay attention to the color of the workpiece and check for black spots or mold. Otherwise, the compote will have an unpleasant aftertaste and spoil your entire feast.
The composition of the mixtures
According to GOST 32896-2014, fruit mixes come in several varieties:
- Extra - consists of whole apricot fruits without seeds (kaisa), whole fruits, but with a seed (apricots), dried apricots and prunes.
- The highest grade - the composition includes all types of apricots, as well as spikes (small fruits), dried cherries and cherries, plums and fruits with seeds - apples and pears.
- The group of mixtures of the first grade includes cornel and pome fruits - apples and pears.
- Pome fruits and wild apples and pears close the list and are included in the so-called table group of mixtures.
How to cook compote mix?
Dried fruits are recommended to be thoroughly washed before boiling in order to get rid of residues of the earth, sand, dust and other foreign objects. Pour the required amount of dried fruit into the pan. There are people who like dark saturated compote, some want a light broth of a light shade. Therefore, it is impossible to advise the exact amount of necessary fruit for a drink. If you cooked the compote, and it is too saturated, you can always dilute it with boiled water.
Different housewives cook compote in their own way. Some of the washed mixture is immediately poured with water and put on a fire to cook, while others put a filled pan for one hour to infuse. It is believed that in this way more dirt will come out and the seeds will emerge, and the fruits will be soaked in liquid and cook faster. Act on your own. After boiling the compote, reduce the heat and cook for 30 or 40 minutes. At the end of cooking, sugar is added. On a 4-liter pan, just pour 150 grams of sugar. Stir with a spoon and taste the compote. If there is enough sugar, then boil for another 5 minutes and turn off the heat.
Put the finished compote on the balcony for complete cooling. Then you can put the pan in the refrigerator or pour the compote into a jug and put it on the festive table for the guests. Many cook stewed fruit in the evening, and in the morning they pour it into banks. So the compote becomes even more saturated.
Tips from experienced housewives
In markets and in stores, dried fruits have a bright and presentable appearance. Producers achieve such beauty by making fruit vaseline or paraffin baths. In order not to eat all this charm together with dried fruits, experienced housewives advise before boiling compote, pour them with boiling water. After draining the water, slide your finger along the inside of the pan. If it became greasy and slippery, then you managed to remove the plaque. Be sure to rinse the fruits under hot water by rubbing them with your fingers.
Served compote is better served chilled, it is advisable to strain it through a small strainer so that the fruits do not float. For yourself, you can pour a delicious drink with a ladle along with fruits. Then they can also be eaten with a spoon.
In catering establishments, 1 gram of citric acid is added to such a compote, at home, you can additionally put a slice of lemon in the uzvar, and honey instead of sugar. In stewed fruit from natural dried fruits, most of the vitamins and minerals that provide the body with nutrients in winter and spring, when their shortage is most noticeable, are preserved.