Apples are ideal for making homemade compotes. They are many times more useful than packaged juices and fruit drinks. The abundance of apple varieties allows you to get a drink for different tastes: from sugary sweet to pleasantly sour. Both fresh and dried fruits are suitable for compote. The former are preferable because they contain more vitamins.
What apples are better for cooking compote
There are many varieties of apples. And thanks to breeders, their number is constantly increasing. Each variety has its own taste, but not everyone is suitable for cooking compote. The success of an apple drink depends a lot on choosing the right fruit.
For making homemade compote, hard apples of sour varieties are ideal, for example, the good old "Antonovka". Also suitable are such autumn varieties as Champion, Gloucester, Spartak. Their pieces do not boil down to the state of porridge, remaining intact in the compote.
You can take a little unripe fruits of other varieties, but just a little. Even sugar will not save compote from obvious green leaves: it will be tasteless. Overripe apples are also undesirable for cooking compote. Such fruits are suitable for jam and jam. And they will not add a pleasant refreshing sourness to compote, they will quickly boil up and turn into porridge. The compote itself will be unclear. This also applies to soft apples, including "Anise", "White filling".
A beautiful compote is made from red and pink apples. You can add a couple of pieces to the green fruit, and the drink will look more aesthetically pleasing. Apple compote can be blended safely, just like wine. When sour and sweet varieties are mixed, interesting flavor notes appear in the drink.
It is important to remember that apples for compote must have a pronounced sourness, otherwise the drink will turn out to be sugary. It also matters how much time has passed since they were collected. Ideal - plucked on the same day. They contain a lot of vitamin juice. Some varieties become “wadded” when left standing for several days. Their fruits emit little juice, and there will be several times less vitamins in compote cooked from long-standing specimens.
How to prepare fruits for apple compote
Preparing fruit for a homemade drink is no big deal. They must be thoroughly washed, cut into slices and the core removed with bones. Apples need to be examined well. It is important that there are no signs of decay on them. Such places must be cut off. If you decide to cook apple compote for the winter, in the presence of rot, the drink will ferment, and the cans will definitely explode.
Some cut the peel off the fruit. If you are using apples from your garden, you do not need to do this. Store fruits can be coated with a waxy coating and other compounds that slow down the natural decay processes. In this case, it is better to remove the peel from the apples.
Experienced housewives recommend pricking each slice with a fork or toothpick. So fruits are more willing to give juice during the cooking process.
It is important to remember that the more apples you put, the tastier the compote will be. In this case, you need to know when to stop - otherwise the drink may come out too little.
How to make a very simple apple compote
- 2 kg of apples;
- 4 tbsp. Sahara;
- a pinch of citric acid.
- Prepare apples: rinse, core and cut into wedges. Leave the fruit intact if desired, if small. Use a toothpick to prick the apples.
- Pour water into a saucepan and let it boil. Place apples, add sugar and bring to a boil again. Pour in citric acid, literally on the tip of a knife.
- Let the compote brew for 20-30 minutes. Drink chilled.
If you want to prepare compote according to this recipe for the winter, then the cooking algorithm will change slightly. Place the apples in pre-sterilized jars and pour boiling water over them. Wait half an hour, pour water into a saucepan, add sugar and let it boil. Add citric acid, pour over apple jars and roll up.
Apple compote is usually pale in color, especially when brewed from green varieties. To improve the shade, you can include chokeberries, red or black currants in the recipe. They will not only give the drink a rich color, but also give it additional astringency and sourness, respectively.
How to make apple compote with cherries: an easy recipe
- 1 tbsp. cherries;
- 1 kg of apples;
- 6 tbsp. l. Sahara;
- 4 liters of water;
- 2 mint leaves.
- Cut the apples into slices. The cherries can be left on. But if you do not want to catch them from the finished compote, remove them first. Instead of fresh cherries, it is permissible to use frozen ones. It is not necessary to defrost it beforehand.
- Place prepared cherries and apples in a saucepan. Cover with water, add mint and bring to a boil.
- Add sugar and cook for about 10 minutes. Drink chilled.
How to cook apple compote with lingonberries
Apple compote with the addition of lingonberry turns out to be moderately sour. The drink quenches thirst well and saturates the body with vitamin C. Choose high-quality lingonberries for it: make sure that the berries are really ripe and without rot. For this compote, take green apples.
- 1 kg of apples;
- 1 kg of lingonberries;
- 500 g sugar;
- 4 liters of water.
- Go through the lingonberries, rinse and let dry. Do a similar procedure with apples, only remove the core from them, and then cut into slices.
- Pour water into a saucepan, let it boil. Dissolve sugar and place in apple wedges. Leave to simmer for 15 minutes. Remove apples and add lingonberries. Continue cooking until the berries are transparent. Then remove them from the pan as well.
- When serving, return some of the apples and lingonberries to the saucepan.
If you want to prepare apple compote with lingonberries for the winter, increase the amount of sugar to 1 kg.
How to cook apple compote with grapes
Grapes and apples are an excellent flavor tandem for homemade compote. The drink is aromatic, with a slight astringency. Apples should be chosen a little underripe, so as not to become porridge. And preferably sour or sweet and sour varieties.
- 1 kg of apples;
- 500 g of grapes;
- 1, 5 Art. Sahara;
- a quarter of a lemon;
- 4 liters of water;
- 4 things. carnations.
- Place the grapes in a colander and rinse thoroughly. Remove the berries from the twigs and rinse again with water. Try not to miss rotten specimens.
- Wash the apples, cut into four parts, removing the core.
- Boil water in a saucepan, add sugar and stir. Dip prepared apples and grapes, add lemon and cloves. The latter will give the compote spicy notes.
- Wait for the drink to boil. After 15 minutes, turn off the heat and let the compote brew for about 15 minutes, then refrigerate and serve.
How to make fresh apple compote for young children
The value of this recipe is in a small amount of sugar. To do this, you will have to take more apples and always the sweetest varieties. Thanks to the cut in sugar, the drink according to this recipe is suitable not only for children, but also for weight-watching adults.
- 1 kg of apples;
- 3 liters of water;
- sugar to taste.
- Pick the ripeest apples, rinse, core and cut into wedges.
- Boil water, lower the fruit, and simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes.
- Add some sugar for flavor. You can use less harmful fructose instead. Let the drink sit for about half an hour. Cool and pour into glasses.
