Compote mixture: composition, taste and method of compote preparation

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Compote mixture is seasonal fruits dried in an oven or in an electric dryer, from which housewives cook compote in summer. Such blanks are very convenient to use, stored all year round. If you dry your favorite apples, plums, pears, apricots or peaches on your own in the summer, you can cook delicious and fragrant compotes all winter and spring.

Traditional uzvars are cooked from the compote mixture for Christmas and Easter. The drink turns out to be incredibly rich, although it requires a longer preparation than fresh fruit compote. The color of the compote depends on the constituent components. If the mixture includes prunes and pears, then the drink turns out to be a rich brown color.

If you do not have the opportunity to dry fruits yourself, then sets with compote mixtures of dried fruits are easy to purchase at any supermarket or market. The choice of goods is huge, because the villagers either sell the entire harvest fresh or dry it for trade in winter. In villages and villages it is easierdry sliced fruit.

How to dry fruits?

To make a compote mixture at home in urban conditions, use either an oven in which the temperature is set to 60 ° C, or purchase an electric dryer. This is a convenient thing, but the drying process is lengthy, it takes from 8 to 12 hours, depending on the juiciness of the fruit. Apples and pears dry out the fastest, while apricots and fleshy plums take longer.

You can also use drying for harvesting berries, for example, viburnum or blueberries. In order to make a compote mixture, 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 fruits are left overnight on the grates. In the morning, you can collect them in linen bags and store them in a dry place.

How are fleshy fruits dried?

Apricots and plums must be prepared before being sent to the oven. There are a few secrets that we will share later in the article:

• Apricots need to be washed and divided into halves, removing the stone. Then they must be soaked in water with the addition of lemon juice (for 1 liter - the juice of 1 lemon), you can replace it with 0.5 tsp. citric acid. This is done so that the fruit does not turn black after drying. They should take on a light brown hue.
• Plums are washed and soaked whole in boiling water with the addition of 1 tsp. soda for 30 seconds. Then rinse them well under running water. You can simplify the drying of plums by dividing the fruit in half andthis should remove the bone.

The drying time of fleshy fruits is much longer than, for example, apples. First set the temperature to 45 degrees and dry for 6 hours. Then they let it stand for a couple of hours and continue drying in the same mode. Let the fruit stand and rest, and then turn up the heat by setting 70 degrees. Dry for 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 mixture will not change depending on the size of the ingredients. If a precipitate forms, it can be strained through a strainer or cheesecloth before serving.

GOST 32896-2014

If you do not want to spend so much time and effort on preparing dried fruits on your own, then when buying packaged mixes in stores, check the production time printed on the package, storage conditions and check the GOST number of the compote mix. It must comply with state standards and specifications when making the workpiece.

If you buy drying in the open from grandmothers in the market, then touch the dried fruits with your hand. They should be dry and not sticky to 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 ruin your whole feast.

Composition of mixtures

According to GOST32896-2014, fruit mixes come in several varieties:

• Extra - consists of whole apricot fruits without stones (kaisa), whole fruits, but with a stone (apricot), dried apricots and prunes.
• Premium grade - includes apricots of all types, as well as zherdels (small fruits), dried cherries and sweet cherries, plums and fruits with seeds - apples and pears.
• The first grade blend group includes dogwood and pome fruits - apples and pears.
• Pome fruits and wild apples and pears close the list and are part of the so-called table mix group.

How to cook compote mixture?

Purchased dried fruits are recommended to be thoroughly washed before boiling to get rid of the remnants of earth, sand, dust and other foreign objects. Pour the required amount of dried fruits into the pan. There are people who like dark rich compote, some want a light broth of a light shade. Therefore, it is impossible to advise the exact amount of fruit needed for a drink. If you have cooked 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 fire to boil, while others put the filled pot to brew for one hour. It is believed that in this way more dirt will come out and seeds will float, and the fruits will be saturated with liquid and boil faster. Act at your own discretion. After boiling the compote, reduce the heat and cook for 30 or 40 minutes. At the end of cooking, addsugar. It is enough to pour 150 grams of sugar into a 4-liter pan. 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 to cool completely. Then you can put the pan in the refrigerator or pour the compote into a jug and put it on the festive table for guests. Many cook compote in the evening, and pour it into jars in the morning. This makes the compote even more intense.

Advice from experienced housewives

In markets and stores, dried fruits have a bright and presentable appearance. Manufacturers achieve such beauty by making vaseline or paraffin baths for fruits. In order not to eat all this charm along with dried fruits, experienced housewives advise to pour boiling water over them before cooking compote. After draining the water, run your finger along the inside of the pot. If it has become oily and slippery, then you have managed to remove the plaque. Be sure to rinse the fruits under hot water by rubbing them with your fingers.

Ready-made compote is best served chilled, it is advisable to strain it through a fine strainer so that the fruit does not float. For yourself, you can pour a delicious drink with a ladle along with fruit. They can also be eaten with a spoon afterwards.

In public 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 bowl, and honey instead of sugar. Most of the vitamins and minerals are preserved in compotes made from natural dried fruits.minerals that provide the body with nutrients in winter and spring, when their shortage is most noticeable.