How to cook compote correctly: rules, tips, recipes

Compote is a flavored drink made from berries or fruits.
It is extremely useful due to its high content of vitamins and microelements. Just one glass of compote can quench your thirst in the summer. Despite the abundance of store-bought drinks, many people prefer only homemade compote made from natural ingredients. Frozen, fresh or dried fruits are suitable for it. Sometimes various herbs and spices are added. To make the compote healthier, it is recommended to avoid granulated sugar. Its substitute is natural bee honey. Honey is added only before the end of cooking, since high temperatures destroy beneficial microelements. Surprisingly, a small amount of salt will only increase the sweetness of the drink. Salt enhances the taste of the fruit.

If you are going to make a delicious homemade compote, first find out all the preparation details. Pay special attention to the cooking time. If you store the drink for several days, time it for at least a quarter of an hour. Dried fruit compote takes twice as long to cook – about half an hour. This is due to the hardness of dried fruits. However, you can pre-soak the ingredients overnight. Then the cooking time will be reduced by half.

How to prepare compote correctly

Compote is a vitamin drink that is prepared regardless of the time of year. For preparation, any berries are used - cherries, cherries, raspberries, strawberries. White, red or black currants work well. It is not recommended to keep the drink on the stove for too long. Over time, beneficial microelements begin to be destroyed. Usually, to prepare a flavored drink, sweet syrup is first made. Then they add the berries.

There is another cooking method, according to which the berries are placed in cool water. Then the compote is boiled for about 5 minutes after boiling. Add sugar before turning off the heat. However, granulated sugar can be replaced with other products if you are concerned about the calorie content of the finished drink. Fructose is a good option. To create a pleasant taste, add freshly squeezed lemon juice. A very unusual taste is obtained by using a set of spices - nutmeg, vanilla sugar, cinnamon powder, cloves and so on.

How to seal pumpkin compote in jars for the winter

Ingredients:

• pumpkin – 300 g;
• sugar – 150 g;
• water – 1000 ml;
• citric acid – 8 g (level teaspoon).

Preparation

Cut the pumpkin into several pieces, remove the seeds and fibrous part. Cut off the peel in a thin layer. We cut each part into cubes of about 1.5-2 cm. The compote does not cook for long, so you should not make it larger - the pumpkin will remain raw. Pour the required amount of water into an enamel ladle (or stainless steel) and put it on fire. At the moment of boiling, place the pumpkin cubes in the water and cook over medium heat for 12-15 minutes.

After the specified time, add sugar and citric acid. If the pulp, in your opinion, is not too sweet, you can add more sugar than indicated, or vice versa - less. We note the time: after boiling, keep it on the fire for 2 minutes and remove from the stove.

We sterilize glass containers and lids for sealing. The compote is immediately poured into jars and sealed.

When the preservation has cooled, store it in a dark place. Sunny mood in winter and health to you!

How long does it take to cook compote?

Basically, the cooking time is determined by the ingredients.
Cook apples and pears for 35 minutes. Other fruits – 15 minutes.

It is advisable to use only fresh fruits, as they contain a lot of water. After drying, a quarter of the original raw material remains. Evaporation helps increase the nutrient content. Dried fruits can contain up to 70 percent saccharides, which is very high. Excessive concentration causes unpleasant consequences in the digestive system. For example, bloating often occurs.

To avoid unpleasant consequences, it is recommended to soak dried fruits before preparing a homemade drink. Fill a small container with clean water. Let the dried fruits sit overnight. In a few hours they will be abundantly saturated with moisture. This preparation will help soften the fruit. They will cook much faster. And the calorie content of the compote will also decrease. For example, 100 grams of dried apricots contain as many nutrients as 500 grams of fresh apricots, recently picked from the tree.

Soaking time takes from half an hour to a day. The water begins to color and absorb excess sugar. If you want to make your homemade drink sweeter, add more infused water. This way you can regulate the sugar content.

The duration of cooking the compote after boiling is determined by the type of dried fruit. For example, dried apples and pears are boiled for about half an hour. If you are going to make apricot, plum or cherry compote, be prepared to spend 15 minutes. Toss in raisins for flavor. Note that dried grapes take 5 minutes to cook, so add them before finishing the drink.

The finished compote turns out quite dark. At the same time, it maintains its transparency. Be careful that the dried fruits do not disintegrate. In general, the fruits will retain much more B vitamins and other useful elements - magnesium, potassium, iron. The drink turns out aromatic and sweet.

Apricot, cherry and red currant compote

We will need:

• apricots;
• Red Ribes;
• cherry;
• water - liter;
• sugar – 380-400 g.

Preparation:

Wash the berries thoroughly, remove the pits from the apricots (they can be cut into two halves). Fill the jars with raw materials up to the shoulders, laying them in layers.

Pour boiling sugar solution over the berries and, covering with lids, sterilize for 5-7 minutes. Remove the jars of compote from the sterilizer for the winter and roll them up. Leave it upside down for a day, and then put it away for storage.

How long should you cook compote in a slow cooker?

Today, there are many types of kitchen appliances that make food preparation easier. For example, a multicooker allows you to make soups, baked goods, and cereals. Some housewives do not realize that this device can even cook compote.

For this you will need 400 grams of various dried fruits. Wash the fruits under the tap in advance. Place into the bowl of the device. Add a glass of granulated sugar and 2.5 liters of drinking water. On the control panel, press the "Stew" or "Soup" button. Set the timer for exactly 1 hour. The above-mentioned modes imply low boiling, so the beneficial substances will remain in the drink. After an hour, you can taste a delicious and aromatic drink of your own making.

Berry compote with black currants and raspberries

We will need:

• currants – 700 g;
• raspberries - half a kilo;
• lemon balm - three branches;
• lemon - three mugs;
• water – one and a half liters;
• sugar – 1.4 kg.

Preparation:

Place the currants in a colander, then lower them into boiling water for 30 seconds, then transfer them to jars. Place lemon balm and lemon on top of currants.

Dissolve sugar in water, boil, add raspberries and let it boil again. Pour the resulting mixture over the currants and after five minutes pour the liquid, without berries, into a saucepan. Bring to a boil again, pour into a jar, and roll up. Turn the compote over and leave for two days.

How to cook compote correctly - tips

• Place fruits only in boiling water.
• If you are going to make a drink from frozen fruits, you will need to defrost it first. Otherwise, the pulp will lose its nutrients. Increase the compote preparation time by 10 minutes.
• Use sweeteners instead of granulated sugar. This will help reduce the calorie content of the finished compote. A good option would be to add bee honey or sucrose.
• During cooking, be careful not to let the ingredients boil.
• To make the apple compote especially tasty, add a little freshly squeezed lemon juice. Orange or tangerine zest is also good, creating a subtle aroma.
• The most delicious compotes are made from a mixture of dried fruits.
• Don't brew the drink for too long. After the water boils, be sure to cover the pot with a lid. Leave to infuse for several hours. Homemade compote will be dark, very rich and tasty.
• It is recommended to use natural flavors. Your favorite spices will be an excellent addition. Vanilla, mint, lemon balm, cinnamon, and thyme are often added to the drink. Citrus zest also enhances the smell.
• Cook hard fruits for no more than 15 minutes. Berries with delicate pulp become ready in 5 minutes.
• Follow the quantities of ingredients. For 1 liter of compote, take 800 milliliters of purified water, 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar and 200 grams of fruit. Thus, the ratio between liquid and fruit is 2 to 1. Otherwise, instead of compote, you will end up with a drink with an indistinguishable smell and taste. Do not put sugar in the pan with the other ingredients. The drink is sweetened only after it has cooled. In addition, it is recommended to pass the compote through a fine sieve to sift out fruit particles.
• If you want to make the drink sweeter, add a little salt. Salt will reveal the taste of the fruit.
• The saturation of the compote is adjusted by adding a teaspoon of lemon juice. Do not remove seeds or pits from fruits. They will help make the drink darker.

The most delicious compote with cherries and bananas

We will need:

• cherries;
• bananas;
• one and a half liter jars;
• 125 g sugar per jar.

Preparation:

Pour cherries with pits into the jars (remember, such compotes do not need to be stored for a long time), add chopped bananas. Pour boiling water, cover with lids and leave to cool.

Drain the water when the jars are still hot, but also so as not to burn your hands. Pour sugar into the pan, if you are making two jars, accordingly, pour 250 grams and so on. Drain the water from the jars into the sugar, bring to a boil, pour the berries and bananas again, twist, turn over, cover and wait for complete cooling, then store.

By the way, this is the way we make almost all compotes for the winter, since neither I nor my mother like sterilization. The compotes are not very sweet, so you would open them and drink them right away. But, if you like it sweeter, you can increase the amount of sugar.

What dried fruits are suitable for making compote?

The drink can be brewed from just one dried fruit, or from several at once. The second option is preferable, because the taste will be richer and more varied. However, it is worth considering what dried fruits you can purchase at a given time, as well as your own preferences.

The classic recipe involves adding prunes, dried apricots

, pears and apples. This perfect combination will give you not only a rich taste and rich aroma, but also nostalgic notes from childhood. This is the kind of dried fruit compote that is cooked in the canteens of kindergartens and schools.

But who would we be if we had no choice? Everyone will give the answer themselves. Fortunately, we have a choice in this matter. We are free to give our compote any taste. We, in turn, will help you find “that” taste for yourself.

Compote of dried figs, pears and dates will make the drink sweet. And dogwood, rosehip

, cherry and barberry will give you a pleasant sourness. It’s more interesting with dried apples, because the taste can be sweet, sour-sweet and completely sour - it all depends on their variety. For lovers of exotics and everything unusual, we recommend a combination of dried bananas and quince.

In any case, a huge field opens up for you to experiment and search for the ideal taste for yourself. However, we recommend that you first familiarize yourself with the most popular combinations (for 2 liters of water):

1. 25 g dried apricots + 50 g pears + 100 g apples + 25 g prunes.
2. 100 g prunes + 100 g dried apricots.
3. 150 g figs + 50 g rose hips.
4. 50 g quince + 100 g dried apricots + 50 g bananas.

But even the choice of dried fruits for making compote fades into the background, because their quality should come first.

Recipe for compote with cherries without sugar

We will need:

• cherries (with or without pits as desired);
• cloves - several buds;
• vanilla sugar - a pinch (can be replaced with three peas of allspice).

Preparation:

Fill half-liter jars with berries to two-thirds of the volume, pour in hot filling and sterilize for 12 minutes. To fill, boil the clove buds with sugar (pepper).

Next, roll up and let cool by turning the jars upside down. If the compote is wrapped in liter jars for the winter, increase the sterilization time to 14-15 minutes.