Universal recipes for apple compotes for the winter
Apple compote for the winter is one of the simplest, healthy, reliable and delicious homemade preparations. Compote satisfies well the feeling of thirst, increases vitality and improves mood. It can be safely given to young children, since the drink rarely provokes allergic reactions. If you're on a diet, apple compote will come in handy. Before proceeding with the recipes, it is worth remembering the basic stages of preparation, following which, you can get an almost perfect drink.
General cooking postulates
Fruits of sweet and sour varieties are best suited for fresh apple compote.
More often than others, they use varieties such as White filling, Melba, Grushevka, Quinti and Mantet.
If you need to cut into slices, do not do it too finely, otherwise the compote may turn into gruel. A similar effect will be obtained when using overripe fruits.
Granulated sugar can be replaced with fructose or molasses. Fans of culinary experiments can diversify the taste with seasonings. Anise, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, vanilla, lemon balm, cardamom, nutmeg or mint.
Preparing dishes and additional tools. From the dishes you will need:
- banks;
- cutting board;
- large saucepan;
- knife;
- sieve (can be replaced with clean gauze).
When considering how to cook apple compote in a saucepan, remember that the container for preparing the syrup must be made of stainless steel. An apple cutter will also be useful, with the help of which you can cut the fruit into several parts and remove the core with just one movement. It is important to properly prepare the cans and lids. They must be washed thoroughly and must be scalded with boiling water.
Before cooking apple compote, you should purchase two simple but very useful tools. It is a sterilization disc and forceps. The first tool is placed in a pot of water. When the liquid boils, a jar is placed on the disc and wait until it is sterilized. And with the help of tongs, it is easy to get the jar without risking getting burned.
Cooking technique.Experienced chefs recommend blanching apples for 5-7 minutes before laying. Blanching will help prevent browning and loss of volume, and the remaining water can be used for syrup. But after blanching, the fruit must be cooled in cold water.
Blanching is needed if you are preparing compote with sterilization.
According to the classic recipe, jars filled with apples are poured with hot syrup (200-300 g of sugar per 1 liter of water). It is important that the syrup completely covers the fruit. After filling with syrup, you can proceed to sterilization. It is very important to determine how much to cook the apple compote. The following guidelines can be taken as a guide:
- 0.5 liter cans - from 15 to 20 minutes;
- 1 liter - up to 25 minutes;
- 2- and 3-liter - up to 35 min.
The sterilization itself should take place at a temperature of 85 °. Banks are sterilized unrolled. Then they are sealed with lids, turned over and left to cool.
Not all recipes require sterilization; below are several of these options.But if sterilization is indicated in the recipe, this cannot be ignored. Otherwise, the shelf life of compote can be significantly reduced. Recall that during fermentation, the fruit floats up, and the lid swells slightly.
Apple compote
Below are 5 recipes for making apple compote. The main ingredient is apples. Despite the simplicity of this recipe, it is better not to deviate from it. If you cook correctly, you can pamper yourself and your loved ones with not only a very tasty, but also a healthy drink.
Apple compote for the winter without sterilization
Ingredients:
- apples - 1 kg;
- sugar - 250 g;
- water - 1 l.
Step 1. Rinse the fruit (large fruit can be cut into wedges). Fill the prepared container so that there is a little free space at the top.
Step2. Cooking syrup. To do this, add sugar to boiling water. Boil the syrup for 2 minutes. Then remove the syrup from the fire and pour over so that the apples are completely covered in the syrup.
Step 3. After 5 minutes. while waiting, the syrup is poured back into the pan and put on fire. After boiling, the liquid is again poured into jars. After 5 min. the procedure is repeated.
Step 4. After the 2nd pouring of the syrup, the jars of apple compote are rolled up for the winter. Then they should be turned over. You can put a cloth or newspaper under the necks. In this position, the cans remain until the final cooling.
Make sure the jars are tight enough. Otherwise, microbes can penetrate into the drink, which will provoke unwanted processes. If aluminum caps have been used, a sign of good clogging is that they are dented.
Insufficient sagging can be caused by overfilling the jar with fruits or improper cooling of the compote. To avoid damage to the product, it is worth changing the lid and sterilizing the compote again.
Whole apple compote (sterilized)
Ingredients:
- fresh semi-ripe apples - 1 kg;
- sugar - 270 g;
- dried mint - 2 sprigs;
- water - 1 l.
Step 1. For harvesting, choose ripe fruits without noticeable flaws, preferably white filling. Cut off the stalks (just leave ⅓ of the length) and rinse the apples thoroughly. Then pour them into a colander so that the water is glass. We put the fruits in clean jars up to half the volume. At the end, put the sprigs of mint. Mint can be replaced with cloves, vanilla sticks, or cinnamon sticks.
To prevent the skin of apples from bursting during sterilization, pierce the fruit in several places with a toothpick or a thick needle. Small apples are best preserved whole.
Step 2: boil the liquid sugar syrup.
Step 3. Pour hot syrup over apples and proceed to sterilization. Cover the filled jars with lids. Place a special wooden rack or towel at the bottom of the pan to be sterilized. Make sure that the jars do not burst from the temperature drop. This can happen if you put cans in boiling water.
Step 4. The roll-in should be done immediately. Turn the rolled up jars and refrigerate.
Dried apple compote
Ingredients:
- dried apples - 100 g;
- sugar - 120 g;
- water - 2 l;
- citric acid - 0.5 tsp (can be replaced with lemon juice).
Step 1. Sort out and rinse the dried apples. Then put them in a saucepan.
Step 2. Pour hot water over dried fruits. Then add sugar and cook over low heat for at least 25 minutes. Granulated sugar can be replaced with honey. But it should be dissolved in a ready-made apple compote. The recipe for every day requires a heavy-bottomed saucepan. The main thing is not to overdo the cooking time. Readiness is determined by softness. It is better to cook a drink from dried fruits with a closed lid, because in the process of evaporation, useful substances are lost.
Overdried apples should be steamed for 10 minutes. in boiling water. To diversify the taste of the drink, add other dried fruits to it. You can also use seasonings such as lemon balm and cloves.
Step 3.It is recommended to wrap the pot with freshly prepared compote with a towel or blanket and leave for several hours. Then the taste of the drink will become brighter and richer. After the compote has cooled, add citric acid.
Apple compote in a slow cooker
Ingredients:
- apples - one and a half kilograms;
- sugar - 250 g;
- water - one and a half liters;
- cloves - 3-4 pcs.;
- lemon - 1 pc.
Step 1. We wash the fruits. Then we remove the skin from them. We collect the peel in a special dish, since it will still be used. Next, cut the apples into 4 pieces, removing the seeds. Squeeze the juice of one lemon to the chopped apples. This will help prevent browning of the apples.
Step 2. To prepare the compote, you will need the “Multipovar” program (you can also use the “Stew” option). The temperature should be up to 160 °. Set the time to 15 minutes and put the apple peel in the multicooker bowl. Fill everything with hot water, you need one and a half liters. When the water boils, add sugar and cook for the rest of the time. Filter the finished syrup through a sieve or cheesecloth.
Step 3. Put the prepared apple slices in jars. Fill them with syrup, cover and leave to cool. When the compote is infused, pour the syrup into the multicooker bowl, add the cloves and use the “Multicook” program again. Bring the liquid to a boil. Pour hot syrup into jars.
There should be a free space between the lid and the compote, but not more than 2 cm.
Step 4. Cover the jars with lids and sterilize them. This can also be done in a multicooker. Fill the appliance bowl with warm water. Cover the bottom of the bowl with gauze folded in several layers. And only then put a jar of compote there. For sterilization, the options "Fry" or "Bake" are suitable. After boiling, switch the multicooker to "Stew" for 20 minutes. This is all that needs to be done before closing the apple compote for the winter.
The multicooker is also suitable for boiling dried fruit apple compote. For this, washed dried apples (400 g) are placed in a multicooker bowl, poured with liquid and, if desired, sugar is added. The "Stew" option is suitable for cooking. With such a program, the compote will languish, which, unlike boiling, allows you to save more nutrients. Set the timer to 50 minutes.
Apples in apple juice
Ingredients:
- apples - 2.5 kg;
- freshly squeezed apple juice - 1 liter;
- water - 1 l;
- sugar - 200 g;
- citric acid - 10 g.
Step 1. Prepared sterile jars are filled with washed apples to the top. Fruits should be whole, preferably small. After completing the arrangement, pour boiling water over the fruit. Then we cover the jars with lids, wrap them with a towel and leave them for a while.
Step 2. Pour freshly squeezed juice into a saucepan and add water, sugar and citric acid to it. After boiling, remove the foam, and when the juice is completely clear, turn off the heat.
The amount of sugar can be adjusted according to the apple variety.
Step 3. Drain the apple jars and fill with the prepared syrup. After that, you can proceed to rolling.
Why is it worth preparing apple compote for the winter?
Firstly, home-cooked apple compotes, the simple recipes for which are given above, are much healthier than industrial juices. You will be protected from dyes, flavors and various preservatives. Note that the average calorie content of this compote is 93 Kcal per 100 g of drink.
Secondly, apple compote is a great addition to biscuits, cookies, strudel and other baked goods. Ready compote can be served with a slice mandarin or an orange. According to etiquette, this drink should be poured into special wide cups ("compotnits"). However, they can be replaced with bowls, bowls or wide cups.
Thirdly, fruit from compote is a healthy and tasty dessert in itself. For the smallest, you can prepare compote with pulp, for this it is enough to beat the contents with a blender.Compote fruit can be safely used as a filling for muffins, pancakes or open pie. They can also be used to make an excellent oatmeal gingerbread.
Fourthly, fresh apple compotes, the recipes from the photo of which were indicated, are good to drink for general strengthening of the body. They help to recover from physical activity. Also, apple drinks should be consumed with anemia and low acidity. Apple compote contains a lot of potassium and magnesium, which improve heart function, while phosphorus, iron and calcium activate metabolism. In addition to trace elements, it is worth mentioning vitamins A, B6, B2, B1, C, as well as folic and pantothenic acid.