Dried apple compote: what is useful and how to cook it?
To please all family members is quite simple - for this you can make compote from dried apples.
Peculiarities
Dried apple compote has long been an indispensable component of the children's menu - people usually get acquainted with this drink at a fairly early age. This delicious drink is necessarily included in the diet of preschool children, but not only crumbs, but also adults drink such a drink with great pleasure.
The undoubted advantage of apple compote is that it can be prepared at any time of the year., because it requires a minimum of necessary products. Also, this drink is very affordable. Dried apples harvested in season are usually well stored and retain all their beneficial properties for many months.
In order to make apple compote, you need good quality apples. Spoiled apples can harm the body and even contribute to the development of food poisoning. That is why, before preparing compote, you should carefully examine the dried fruits for traces of rot in them.
Compote can also be made from fresh apples, but many people like the taste of the drink when it is made from dried fruits. They believe that such a drink has a slightly different taste. Also, when preparing apple compote, you can add other additional aromatic additives to it - cinnamon sticks, cloves, star anise and other spices.This will give the finished drink a new taste and unique aroma.
Composition and calories
The nutritional value of a drink can vary significantly. In many ways, the calorie content of apple compote is determined by how many apples and sugar were used to make the drink; the variety of apples also matters. The more carbohydrates contained in dried fruits, the more calories will be in the finished compote.
The BJU of apple compote is determined mainly by the apples that were used to make the drink. So, on average, 100 grams of apples contain 2.1 grams of vegetable proteins, 0.1 grams of fat and about 60 grams of carbohydrates. If sweeter fruits were chosen for the preparation of compote, then the content of natural sugar will be higher. Calorie content of 100 grams of dried apples - 260 kcal.
Dried apples can be called a storehouse of vitamins.
Among the substances necessary for the body, they contain the following:
- a nicotinic acid;
- tocopherol;
- vitamin C;
- thiamine;
- riboflavin;
- vitamin A;
- iron;
- calcium;
- potassium;
- sodium;
- phosphorus;
- magnesium.
Natural sugars are one of the main components of dried fruits. Thus, their content is more than 10% by weight of dried fruit. The presence of natural sugars determines the sweet taste of apple compote.
Beneficial features
It is believed that if a child drinks apple compote regularly, he will not get sick. The fact is that this drink has an antibacterial effect. It contains natural ingredients that help fight viruses and bacteria that cause many dangerous diseases. If you drink apple compote systematically, you can strengthen your immune system, as the drink contains substances that positively affect the functioning of the immune system.
The health benefits of consuming such a compote are great. Dried fruits are a natural source of chemicals that can balance the acid-base balance in the human body. The use of apple compote has a positive effect on the functioning of the kidneys. This drink also helps to remove unnecessary metabolites from the body, which are formed during the life of the body.
During an illness, various toxins accumulate in the body, and in this case, harmful substances appear both in the cells of the body in the baby and in an adult - his nursing mother. In order to remove them from the body, a sufficient amount of fluid is required. Doctors recommend drinking warm compotes, including apple. This will help the body to quickly cope with the consequences of infectious intoxication.
The chemical composition of dried apples also contains pectin. This substance is necessary for the proper functioning of the intestines. Scientists have found that this component is able to restore the motor function of the colon. This biological effect contributes to the fact that the chair becomes regular, and the intestinal microflora improves.
Dried apples contain dietary fiber, which also affects intestinal contractions. In order to establish the processes of digestion, a person needs to consume a sufficient amount of fruits. Apple compote can be an excellent option for filling the body's physiological need for dietary fiber. It should be noted that in order to improve bowel function, it is necessary not only to consume liquid from compote, but also to eat boiled apples.
Many mothers of babies are familiar with the problem when the baby flatly refuses to eat fruit.Usually, this resistance leads to the fact that the child has difficulty with regular stools. Drinking apple compote can help solve this problem. In order for the baby to quickly get used to drinking such a drink, you can turn the process of drinking compote into an exciting game.
Apple compote is a great dessert for people who are watching their figure or are in the process of normalizing their weight. Many diets exclude the use of foods rich in carbohydrates, however, following such weight loss systems is quite difficult. You can please yourself with apple compote, but when preparing it, you should not put sugar. It is better to choose sweet apples, but do not additionally sweeten the drink. In this case, the calorie content of the drink will not be increased due to the calories contained in sugar.
We also note that a person who wants to quickly reach the desired weight should not drink apple compote in large quantities. A couple of glasses a day instead of dessert will help bring weight back to normal faster.
Contraindications
Apple compote is a fairly safe drink, but in some cases, taking it can harm a person. This is manifested by the fact that after eating apple compote, adverse symptoms appear. Also, in some people, taking this drink can provoke the development of an exacerbation of certain diseases that have a chronic course.
Doctors do not advise patients to use apple compote during an exacerbation of peptic ulcer. Dried apples are rich in natural acids, and these substances can increase pain during an ulcer flare-up. You can drink apple compote after the inflammatory process begins to fade.
Also, diabetics who are forced to control their blood glucose levels for life should not abuse apple compote, because drinking a drink can provoke an increase in glucose concentration. With uncontrolled type 2 diabetes, this is very dangerous, as it can even provoke the development of hyperglycemic coma.
People who are obese and are forced to stick to a diet should include sweet apple drinks in their menu only after visiting a nutritionist. The doctor will evaluate the possibility of adding such a drink to the diet, and will also make individual recommendations on how much apple compote can be drunk for a particular person on a diet.
Allergy or individual intolerance to apples is a contraindication for taking apple compote. In this case, the use of a sweet drink is fraught with the development of very dangerous conditions that may even require immediate medical attention and possible hospitalization.
People who doubt whether they can drink apple compote for health reasons should first of all discuss this with a doctor. The doctor will be able to assess the current state of the body and dispel doubts about the possibility of drinking an apple drink.
How to dry?
Apples have been used by people for drying for many centuries. These fruits are so loved by the people that they tried to dry them well and keep them for the whole winter. If necessary, you could take a small portion of apples and use them to make a delicious compote.
Many years ago, fruits could only be dried in the usual way - in the open air. This method of drying is rarely used until now.Drying apples in this way is quite simple, but first you need to decide what kind of fruit you need to use for drying. Many people advise choosing sweeter varieties - in this case, dried fruits will be more fragrant and sweet.
For drying, choose fruits that do not show signs of spoilage. Rotten fruits tend not to dry well, especially naturally. Also, these fruits have a significantly reduced shelf life.
After all the apples have been selected, they must be washed well and cut into slices. You can also dry the fruits by cutting them into circles. The thinner the apples are cut, the faster they will dry.
The juicier the fruit, the longer they can dry. During drying, most of the natural moisture from the fruit evaporates, and this leads to the fact that dried fruits lose some weight. So, the weight of dried fruits ready after drying is always less than the weight of apples that were used for their manufacture.
It takes several days for the fruits to dry well. It all depends on the conditions under which drying occurs. Ambient humidity and ambient temperature affect the rate of evaporation of natural moisture from cut fruit. That is why lovers of dried apple fruits recommend drying apples in warm and rather dry weather. Thus, the fruits will dry out sooner and turn into dried fruits.
Modern housewives have quite a lot of useful technical devices in their home arsenal that make life much easier. With their help, making dried apples is a fairly simple task. So, you can cook this delicious dessert using a microwave, an electric dryer, or even a conventional oven.
Cooking time for dried apples when using technical devices is noticeably reduced. So, dried fruits, when cooked in the oven, will be ready, as a rule, in 5-7 hours. Dry apples should be at a relatively low temperature - up to 60 degrees. In this case, the fruits dry well, but they cannot burn.
After the dried apples are ready, they should be transferred to a container where they will be stored. If necessary, you can take a small amount of fruit and use it to make a delicious compote.
How to cook?
Making a delicious compote from dried apples is quite simple. The classic recipe for making apple compote at home includes only three products: apples, water and sugar. The remaining additives serve only as an addition to the main, traditional method of preparing a fragrant drink.
In order to cook delicious apple compote at home, you will need:
- dried apples - 160-180 gr;
- granulated sugar - 1-1.5 cups (according to your own taste);
- water - 1 liter.
First you need to prepare dried apples. All rotten or spoiled fruits should be removed, as they can spoil the taste of the compote. Sorted apple slices must be poured with a small amount of water and left for 12 minutes so that they swell a little. Water is best used at room temperature. Dried fruits should not be poured with boiling water immediately, as this can lead to a decrease in vitamins in them.
After the dried fruits increase in size, they should be transferred to a saucepan, pour water (it is better to pre-filter it) and put on fire. Cooking time is about 15 minutes.It is best to cook compote at a low temperature - this will help preserve the beneficial substances that are in apples.
After 15 minutes, sugar should be added to the apple compote and boiled for about 12-15 minutes more. After that, the fire can be turned off, and the compote can be left for further infusion. It is better to drink an apple drink after it has been infused and cooled down a bit.
Some hostesses do not like to add sugar to apple drinks, but replace it with honey. Such a change in the traditional recipe is quite acceptable. We only note that putting honey should not be in a hot drink, but only after it has cooled down a bit. In this case, the benefits of honey will be greater, since such an ingredient, like dried fruits, does not tolerate heat well.
If desired, you can diversify the taste of the drink if you add cinnamon, star anise or other dried fruits to it. In this case, the aroma of apple compote changes and becomes more spicy.
How to store?
The prepared apple drink contains a lot of sugar, so it should be stored in a cold place. It is better to pour the finished compote into a glass container and put it in the refrigerator - this way it will retain all its useful and taste properties for a longer time.
Improper storage can cause the taste of apple compote to deteriorate. In this case, you should not drink the drink, as this can lead to food intoxication. Also, before use, be sure to pay attention to the appearance of the compote. If it has become cloudy, then it is also impossible to drink spoiled liquid.
How to make compote from dried apples, see the following video.