Laurie’s Cobalt World Blog

 

“Compote” seems to be a word not well known among the younger generations, but it is well worth holding onto. Compote is a very versatile and very delicious dish, either served alone or with other equally delicious offerings.Compote is a fruit dish, often served warm. Frequently it is a mixture of fruit rather than a single fruit, sweetened and perhaps flavored. Compote can be made sugar-free and/or fat-free. It can be made from dried fruit, fresh fruit, frozen fruit, or canned fruit. There are no hard-and-fast rules, but rather many choices and many successful combinations.

 

Compote can either be served as a dessert or as a side dish. For side dishes, think of less sweet mixtures of apples, pears, cranberries, or rhubarb. Pork and apple compote is a classic combination as is poultry with cranberry compote. I’ve even seen onion compote recipes for hamburgers.

I generally think of compote as dessert or as part of a sweet breakfast entrée. At least those are my favorites!

The compote can be the main part of the dessert or can be used as a topping for ice cream, panna cottas, angel food cake, pancakes or blintzes, shortcake, biscuits, or cheesecake.

 

Dessert compotes may be topped with ice cream, served with cookies, or served alone in an elegant compote dish (footed serving dish) for a simple, but stunning dessert.

 

 

 

 

Dessert compotes generally all have the same basic ingredients:

• Fruit or a mixture of fruit, about 3 cups
• Liquid such as water, wine, or juice, about ½ cup (more for dried fruit)
• Flavorings such as lemon zest, vanilla extract, nutmeg, cinnamon, or liquor
• Sweeteners such as sugar, maple syrup, sugar substitutes*, molasses, brown sugar, between ½ and 1 cup
• Butter (optional, but delicious), 2 to 3 tablespoons
• Pinch salt *If using a sugar substitute, you may need to add a thickener such as cornstarch with the liquid to tighten up the compote. In sugared recipes, the syrup is often cooked until it thickens. Sugar substitutes lack that quality. 

 

 

 

Some compotes are baked, but most are cooked in a saucepan for about 15 minutes. The entire preparation of warm compote can easily be less than ½ hour.

To make compote, first mix your liquid, sweetener, and flavorings (save vanilla extract until the end, if you are using). Cook for about five minutes until the syrup begins to thicken. If you are using fruits that take different amounts of time to cook, add them in order from the longest cooking to the shortest. Apples, pears, dried fruits, and firmer fruits should be added first. Peaches, canned fruit, plums, apricots, and softer fruits should go next. Berries, especially raspberries, should be added near the end as the firmer fruits are nearly softened.

Add butter, stir, and serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled.

Brainstorm combinations. Do you like apples, raisins, and cranberries together? How about mixed berries? Summer fruits? Dried fruits? Oranges and cranberries?

Match flavorings with fruits: cinnamon or vanilla for apples, nutmeg for blueberries or peaches, lemon with berries.

And if you are not feeling that adventuresome, try this favorite compote recipe of mine:

 

 

 

Mixed Berry Compote With Vanilla Bean Ice Cream 

 

 

• ½ cup water
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• dash salt
• 1 lb. bag of frozen mixed berries (about 3 cups)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• vanilla bean ice cream

 

Mix the water, sugar, lemon zest, and dash of salt in a saucepan. Cook over medium high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Boil for five minutes. Add the berries and stir gently. Bring to a full boil again, reduce heat, and simmer for two minutes.Remove from heat, add butter, and stir. Cool to room temperature or chill. The compote thickens as it cools.

 

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 Serve in individual dessert cups. Top with vanilla ice cream just as you serve the compote.

Laurie