How to make compote from apricots?
Apricots (also called yellow plums) are tasty, healthy fruits that contain such important vitamins as C, B1 and B2, as well as a number of other substances necessary for the body, including potassium, iron and cobalt. In addition, the drink has a pleasant, interesting taste. Apricot compote for the winter and for the next lunch will be a great alternative to store-bought drinks.
General rules for cooking
There are many ways to make compote from apricots for every day or for storage. The difference between the process of preparing "short-term" and "long-term" drinks is the need for actions related to the preservation of compote intended for winter. To brew and drink an apricot drink as soon as it cools, no additional tricks are needed.. Enough roomy saucepan, apricots, sugar and other additives that emphasize the taste of the main ingredient.
It is not recommended to cook compote for more than 5 minutes after boiling, so that the fruit does not turn into porridge.
For a long-term storage drink, you will have to prepare a convenient container. These are jars of 3-5 liters that need to be sterilized before use. If this is not done, all the work will go to waste, the drink will go bad. To begin with, the jars are thoroughly washed in warm water. To really achieve cleanliness, they are rubbed with soda, mustard powder, dishwashing gel. After that, the container needs rinse thoroughlyso that there are no traces of detergent left on it.
The next step is sterilization. Storage containers are treated with steam, and then kept in the oven at a temperature of +60 degrees. Lids usually just boil. After the compote is cooked and placed in jars, they are rolled up with a special machine and checked for leaks by turning the container on its side. If liquid does not ooze from under the lid, everything is in order. Some housewives, before rolling up the cans, additionally sterilize the drink itself by placing the container filled with it in a large vat of hot water. Cool the sealed container with compote upside down under a blanket.
Selection and preparation of ingredients
Ripe and resilient apricots without traces of rot or damage are suitable for compote. If the fruits are overripe and have lost their density, they will lose their shape during the cooking process. It looks unappetizing. If you take unripe, the drink will become bitter. In addition, it must be borne in mind that the velvety skin of the fruit requires more thorough washing than the smooth sides of, for example, apples. If it is not washed properly, long-term compote will deteriorate.
Apricot drink is brewed in different ways:
- from whole fruits;
- from divided into parts;
- with bones;
- without them;
- with boiling fruit;
- by dousing them with boiling water.
Any of the methods allows you to save the vitamins and minerals that are in fresh fruits. Most often, the bones are left in apricots if they want to drink compote in the coming days. When preparing a drink for long-term storage, the bones can give unwanted bitterness or cause jars with blanks to “tear”.
How and with what can you cook?
Apricot compote, even for every day, even canned, is good in and of itself.The use of various additives makes its taste even brighter, and even the most demanding gourmet enjoys the drink. A good combination of these fruits in compote:
- with apples or ranetki;
- peaches;
- pears;
- citrus;
- grapes;
- cherry;
- currant;
- plum.
An additional shade of taste will be given:
- mint;
- carnation;
- cinnamon;
- nuts.
On every day
To prepare a delicious compote, it is enough to have apricots themselves on hand. The richer you want to make a drink, the more fruit you can take. Sugar - to taste, like other fruits and berries. For example, if you put a cherry in a saucepan, it will give the compote a sour tint, a plum will add astringency, with blackcurrant the drink will acquire a beautiful color and richness of taste, and with apples - a bright smell.
For the winter
"Winter" recipes for apricot compote are very diverse. To make a drink only from the apricots themselves without sterilization, per liter of water you need to take:
- apricots, cut in half;
- half a glass of sugar.
Wash the fruits thoroughly and let them dry, cut in half and remove the seeds. Place apricots in sterilized jars. Add granulated sugar. Pour boiling water over the top. There is no need to rush into this matter. Water is added slowly so that the glass container heats up gradually and does not burst. After that, you can tightly close the lid using a seaming machine.
In order for the sugar in the jar to dissolve more quickly, it is placed on its side and rolled so that the crystals disperse throughout the liquid. Now you can close the blanks with something warm and leave to cool completely.
Sterilized compote is prepared differently. Based on a liter jar, take:
- fresh yellow plums;
- half a glass of sweet sand;
- a little citric acid;
- water.
You need to prepare apricots by washing, dividing in half and removing the hard center part from them. Divide into steamed jars. Pour boiling water over and cover with lids (sterilized). So leave for 10 minutes. Now drain the water into a saucepan and add granulated sugar there. Stir and wait for the liquid to boil. Add a pinch of citric acid to the syrup. Boil until sugar is completely dissolved in water.
Immediately pour the contents of the pan into jars with apricots, cover with lids and place the filled container in a container of impressive size (put a towel on the bottom beforehand). Pour water into a vat and place with jars on a hot stove. When it boils, hold on fire for 10 minutes so that the compote is sterilized. After that, twist the jars and let them cool slowly under the covers.
Festive is the taste of apricot compote with the addition of oranges. For 5 liters of compote take:
- kilogram of apricots;
- 500 grams of oranges;
- kilogram of sugar;
- lemon.
Wash the apricots thoroughly (you can use a fruit brush). Cut in half and remove the bones. Oranges get rid of the "clothes", separate the bones. Squeeze juice from citrus fruits and strain. Place a pot of water on the hot burner. Add granulated sugar to the heated liquid, stir. When it boils, cook for another 5 minutes. Add orange and lemon juice (to taste) to the resulting liquid. Pour syrup over the apricots placed in jars, roll up and leave to cool.
Sweet lovers will appreciate apricot compote if you start the syrup for it with honey. Those who do not appreciate the cloying sweetness can dilute the drink with water when drinking. To prepare compote, you need to have on hand:
- 3 kilograms of apricots;
- 3 quarter kilograms of fresh honey.
Wash and cut apricots in half, remove pits. Place fruit tightly in sterilized jars. Make syrup from water and honey. Pour into filled jars. Then sterilize the container with compote in a large saucepan with water over low heat for 10 minutes, roll up. Inverted, wait for cooling under the covers.
The taste of summer in the middle of winter will return pear-apricot compote. To prepare it you will need:
- fresh apricots - about 300 grams;
- a couple of large pears;
- half a glass of sugar;
- mint for taste (twig).
Rinse the apricots thoroughly, cut into several pieces of approximately the same size, and discard the seeds. Dip the prepared fruits into the pan. Wash the pears. Remove seeds with partitions. Cut the pears into pieces of the same size and send to the apricots. Pour sugar and put mint there. You can optionally supplement the composition with lemon or orange juice.
Pour hot water over the top. Turn on the burner and wait for the compote to boil. Change to slow fire. Cook for 15 minutes so that the pieces of fruit do not fall apart. Remove the sprig of mint (if this is not done, the compote will become bitter and ferment during storage). Pour the contents of the pan into a sterilized glass container and cork with a lid treated with boiling water. Turn the jar upside down and leave to cool under an old fur coat or blanket.
Proper storage
Apricot compote should not be stored immediately after it has cooled. Over the next 2 weeks, he will "show" himself. If it becomes cloudy or the lid is swollen, then the jar “explodes”. So, you will have to re-sterilize it and roll it up again. You need to store canned compote in a dark, cold place - in a pantry or cellar. If apricots are pitted, the shelf life of the drink is no more than a year. Compotes with pitted fruits are stored for up to 3 years.
After the jar is opened, it can be stored for no more than 2 days (in the cold).
How to cook a delicious apricot compote for the winter, see the next video.