Fruit Compote.How to Make fruit Compote an Easy Recipe.

 You can make fruit compote with fresh or frozen fruit. It is quick and easy to make.

Fruit Compote is tasty, versatile and easy to make.

A healthy recipe. Compote is healthier to spread on toast than jam, the sugar content is lower. It is easier to make than jam and you can make a batch and store it in the fridge for two or three days.

You can use fruits that are in season and you can even mix small quantities of different fruits.

If no fresh fruit is available you can use defrosted frozen fruit.

What do You Need to Make A Fruit Compote?

A hob to cook it on, a saucepan to cook it in, a wooden spoon to stir it with.

This recipe can be varied to suit your own taste preference.

Use a selection of fruit of your choice; here is a list of some fruits that I find make good compote: (use one type of fruit or mix them together e.g blackberries &raspberries.)

Some of the types of fruits that are suitable for making compote are :

• Plums
• Strawberries
• Raspberries
• Rhubarb (rhubarb is really a vegetable but we usually use it as a fruit when we cook it)
• Blackberries
• Cherries

Apples will go well with any of these other fruits.

The quantity of fruit you cook does not matter; so long as you have enough to form a reasonable layer in the saucepan.

Sugar quantity needed = to your taste and the batch size that you are preparing.

Vanilla sugar this *gives a very nice flavour to the compote and I always use it for making compote or fruit pies. It is simple to make but if you have no vanilla sugar; any sugar white or brown sugar will work for making this (apart from the very dark, molasses tasting ones).

How to make your own Vanilla Sugar.

*Vanilla sugar is made by adding a vanilla pod to a jar of sugar and storing it with the pod in the jar. Over time the sugar picks up the flavour of the vanilla and using this type of sugar imparts a delicate taste when it is used in to make custard or with fruit etc.

To Make The Fruit Compote:

• Place your prepared fruit in the saucepan, on a gentle heat on the hob on top of your cooker.
• You may need to add a small amount of water if the fruit is one that does not have a high water/moisture content (frozen fruit tends to have a higher water content than fresh) you can add a couple of tablespoons of wine instead or as well if you wish. Wine goes well with plums when making compote.
• Simmer the fruit in the saucepan on the hob until the fruit starts to soften; stir gently now and again just enough so that the fruit does not stick to the pan; do not allow it to burn.

• Now add your sugar not too much at first, taste the fruit as you add the sugar so that you do not make it too sweet or leave it too tart. Take care not to burn yourself when testing it the fruit and sugar hold the heat.
• Once the fruit has softened but before it turns to a pulp or goes too mushy it is done and you should remove it from the heat to cool.

Serving suggestions:

You can serve compote with ice cream, custard, sponge cakes and custard, cream such as Cornish clotted cream, plain yogurt or Greek yogurt and honey. Another way to serve this is instead of jam on toast.

Ideas for fruit compote combinations.

If you notice that you have fruit in the house that needs using up quickly i.e.it is ripe and will go to waste if not eaten soon - cook it up into compote to save from wasting it.

Mixed fruit compote is delicious on breakfast cereal,or try compote made from berries with yogurt. There are some great fruit combinations that work well together, with a bit of imagination fruits can be turned into a tasty treat.

Apple,pear and plum compote is a tasty combination.

To cook a small fruit with a stone such as mirabelles (a small plum) cut them in half and remove the stone before placing them in saucepan. Plums are tasty cooked with a spash of white wine in with them.

Apple and blackberries.

Plums and apples.

A really nice taste combination is fresh strawberries cooked up into a compote with a small amount of pomegranate juice with just enough sugar to thicken and sweeten.

Mixed berries.

Mixed berries and blackcurrants.

Gooseberries with finely diced apple make a delicious fruit compote combination. Cook the fruits with just enough water to stop the ingredients from sticking to the saucepan base and just enough sugar to sweeten the compote.

When using frozen fruit to make your fruit compote you will find that the moisture content of the fruit varies more than with fresh fruit.

This means that you will need to vary the amount of sugar you add to it and be prepared to add a sliced up fresh apple or two to it if it is very moist. Do not add water or liquid to it until you have seen how much liquid is coming out of the frozen fruit as you gently cook it. It may take longer to turn into compote than fresh fruit and may contain less whole fruits at the end of the cooking time. If it seems very moist/liquid you may have to simmer it until it reduces down to the right consistency/texture. The apples help it to 'set' and thicken it is the pectin in apples that does this (pectin is the ingredient that is used to set strawberry jam).

If fresh fruit is not available and you use a bag of frozen fruit remember that you may need to add more sugar than with fresh fruit to help to thicken it; this because of the moisture content in frozen fruit. Another idea is to add a sliced up apple or two to the frozen fruit which goes especially well with frozen fruits such as blackberries or raspberries,fruits.

Remember to store your home made fruit compote in the fridge once it has cooled. You need to use your fresh fruit compote witihin 2-3 days but it will probably be so popular that it will be eaten up quickly. If you want to make a preserve that will last for longer you need to make it into a jam which preserves the fruit because of the different methods used when making it. Another way to preserve fruit is to bottle it but both jam making and fruit bottling take a long time to do. Fruit compote is quick an easy to make so it a great way to use up fruit or to make a quick desert or breakfast treat.