Compotik for the winter
In addition to freshly brewed compotes from dried fruits, apples, pears and other “seasonal” fruits, in winter it is very pleasant to open a jar and drink compotes prepared for future use in advance - in summer or autumn. And often these preparations turn out to be tastier than all store-bought juices. If you have never prepared compotes for the winter, then urgently correct yourself - these drinks, sweet, aromatic, chilled, will especially please both guests who come to the next feast, and those at home when you want something “like that” and quickly
Moreover, preparing compote is not at all difficult, as it may seem to beginners. Below we will give you several recipes and tell you about the technology. Please note that the quantities of ingredients are indicated everywhere according to certain proportions, but you can increase or decrease them, remembering to follow the proportions.
How to cook compote for the winter - recipes
Apple compote for the winter:
- approximately 3 liters of water;
- 400 g sugar;
- apples to taste;
- a little chokeberry for color (optional);
- 3 liter jar and lid.
Wash and dry the apples. For compote, you can use them whole, or you can cut them into halves or quarters and remove the cores. There is no need to peel the fruit. Sterilize the jar and lid. Fill the jar 1/3 full with apples. Make the syrup:
Pour the sugar into boiling water, bring to a boil again, boil for 2 minutes, remove from heat and immediately pour the syrup into the jar of apples. Cover the jar with a lid and leave for 5 minutes. Then pour the syrup back into the pan, bring it to a boil again and pour it over the apples again. Now roll up the jar, turn it over, wrap it and leave it to cool. Place the finished compote in a cool place. If desired, the syrup from a jar of apples can be drained and boiled again not once, but twice before rolling.
Sweet apricot-cherry compote:
- 1 liter of water;
- 400 g granulated sugar;
- apricots to taste;
- a handful of cherries;
- a liter jar and a lid for it.
Sort the berries, rinse and dry. Divide the apricots into halves and remove the pits. Sterilize the jars, place halves of apricots in them, add cherries. Boil liquid syrup from water and granulated sugar (keep on fire for at least 10-15 minutes) and pour boiling water over the berries. Roll up with sterilized lids and place upside down. Wrap the finished compote for 12 hours - you can use an old blanket or sweatshirt.
You can immediately prepare the syrup for the number of jars you want to roll. Take apricots depending on your desire: so that they fill the entire jar or only half of it, or maybe a third - it all depends on your taste.
Concentrated redcurrant compote:
- 500 ml water;
- 250 g granulated sugar;
- 1 kg of red currants.
Rinse the currants. By the way, you don’t have to remove the berries from the branches - this way the finished compote will look more interesting. Sterilize jars and lids. Place the currants tightly into the jars. Prepare the syrup and pour boiling water over the berries. Roll up the jars. The finished compote can be diluted with water, or can be used in concentrated form as a syrup for various culinary needs.
Blackcurrant compote:
- 3 liters of water;
- 300 g granulated sugar;
- black currant berries.
Rinse and dry the berries. Sterilize the jar and lid. Pour the currants into the jar, filling them about 1/3 full. Boil water and pour into a jar. Leave the water with the berries to steep for 15 minutes. Then pour the water into a saucepan, add sugar, boil the syrup and pour boiling water over the berries. Roll up the jar, turn it over, cover with a towel and leave to cool.
Black currants in this recipe can be replaced with other berries or fruits: strawberries, plums, apples, etc.
Plum compote:
- 3 liters of water;
- 1 tbsp. granulated sugar;
- plum to taste (about 1/3 of the jar).
The plums for compote need to be ripe or slightly unripe, fairly hard and dense. Rinse the berries and place them in a jar, filling it to about 1/3 of its volume. Boil water and pour in the plum. Leave to brew for 15 minutes, then pour the water from the jars into a saucepan, bring to a boil and pour sugar into it. When the sugar dissolves, pour the resulting syrup over the plum. Roll up the jar, turn it over, wrap it in a blanket and leave it for a day.
Delicious peach compote:
- 1 liter of water;
- 600 g granulated sugar;
- 3 kg of peaches.
Wash and peel the peaches. You can do this this way: put whole fruits in boiling water for 3 minutes, and then in cold water. After this, the skin is easily and neatly removed. Next, cut the peaches into 4 parts and remove the pits. Fill the prepared jars with fruit halves. Prepare the syrup and pour it over the peaches. Then place the open jars in a saucepan with water, bring the water to a boil and sterilize the jars for 20-25 minutes. Next, roll up the jars, wrap them and leave until cool.
Cook and drink with pleasure! Bon appetit!
The owners of basements and cellars are happily rubbing their hands: the busy time for preparations has come. Now, when berries and fruits are in abundance, it’s time to prepare compotes for the winter. Compotes for the winter are both tasty and healthy. Some housewives manage to brew 80-100 cans of this delicacy! And this is great, because any homemade compote contains far more vitamins than the best compote from the store.
There are many options for preparing compotes, but all of them can be divided into two methods: sterilized compotes and compotes prepared without sterilization. Whoever likes what - for some it’s easier to throw all the products into jars and boil them for half an hour, while others prefer pouring them multiple times. But in any case, you need to follow the general rules:
Carefully inspect berries and fruits for rot and damage, otherwise all your work may go to waste.
. Wash fruits and berries thoroughly before pouring syrup.
. Remove the seeds from stone fruits (peaches, apricots, plums, nectarines, cherry plums, cherries). The fact is that the seeds contain hydrocyanic acid (a strong poison!), which after a year of storing compotes passes from the seeds to the fruit. If you cooked compote with seeds, be sure to use it within a year.
. Jars for compote are prepared as follows: first, they must be thoroughly washed in hot water with baking soda, rinsed well and put for sterilization. 
. Jars are sterilized either over steam or in the oven. Some craftsmen have adapted lids from large saucepans or boiling pots for this purpose - holes are cut into them slightly larger than the necks of the jars. The vessel with boiling water is covered with such a lid, and the jars are inserted into the holes with their necks down. If you prefer to sterilize jars in the oven, be careful not to “overcook” them, otherwise the jar may burst when pouring syrup.
. Lids for rolling compote should be varnished, without scratches, with tight-fitting rubber bands.
And now about the main thing - technology. Here, for example, is one method of preparing compotes without sterilization . For a 3-liter jar: 2-3 cups of berries or fruits, 300 g of sugar. In the evening, put the berries in jars and pour boiling water over them. Cover with a lid and leave overnight. By morning, the berries absorb liquid and settle to the bottom. Then pour the water from the cans into a saucepan, add sugar and put on fire. The amount of sugar can be adjusted to taste. Moreover, you can even make compotes without sugar at all (if there is a crisis or you simply run out of sugar at the most crucial moment), just add sugar syrup to such a compote before use. At the same time, set the lids to sterilize. As soon as the syrup boils, pour it over the berries and roll up. Turn over, cover, let cool. In this way you can prepare compotes for the winter from any fruits and berries.
Compote of nectarines or peaches. Small nectarines can be placed whole in the compote (remember about the seeds!), large ones can be cut and the seeds removed. It is advisable to remove the skin from the peaches - they will become very tender. Removing the skin from peaches is simple: cut the skin crosswise and lower the fruit into boiling water for 1-2 minutes, and then immediately lower it into cold water. The peel comes off very easily. For a 3-liter jar: 1 kg of nectarines or peaches, 600-700 g of sugar, 2 liters of water. Place the fruits in jars, pour boiling water over them, cover with a lid and leave for 15 minutes. Drain the water into a saucepan, add sugar and boil the syrup. Pour the fruit into jars and roll up immediately. Turn over and cool. You can add a few cherry plums or plums to this compote, and add lemon juice or a few lemon slices to the peach compote (which turns out too sweet).
Compote "New Year"(from tangerines). For a 3-liter jar: 1 kg of tangerines, 1 glass of sugar, 1 liter of water. This is a recipe for compote with sterilization. Peel the tangerines from skins and veins, divide into slices. Boil the syrup and blanch the tangerine slices in it for 30 seconds. Place tangerines in jars, fill with syrup and add some peels for flavor. Cover the jars with lids and sterilize for 30 minutes. Twist, turn over, let cool.
"Sunny Glade"(from strawberries). Another compote with sterilization. For a 3-liter jar: 1 kg of berries, 2/3 cup. sugar, 1 liter of water. Boil the syrup and blanch the berries in it for 1 minute. Place the berries in jars, pour in syrup, cover with a lid and sterilize for 20 minutes. Roll up and set upside down to cool.
Compote of cherry plum and zucchini. For a 3-liter jar: 500 g of zucchini, 400 g of cherry plum, 200 g of sugar, 1 liter of water. Peel the zucchini 
peel, cut into 4 parts, remove the core. Cut the zucchini into cubes with a side of 1 cm. Put the cherry plum into the prepared jars, then the zucchini, pour boiling sugar syrup. Cover the jars with lids and let cool. Then drain the syrup, boil it and fill the jars again. Roll up.
Compote “Indian Summer”(with pears). For a 3-liter jar: 1 kg of medium-sized pears, 2 cups of sugar, 2 liters of water, ½ tsp. citric acid. Wash the pears, remove the core, place in a jar and pour boiling sugar syrup. Add citric acid to each jar and roll up. Turn it upside down, wrap it in a blanket, and leave it to cool.
"Ripeness"(from cherries). This is a very rich compote, you need to drink it diluted. The compote is prepared in liter jars, the berries are filled to the top and filled with syrup. Cook the syrup: for 1 liter of water - 2 cups of sugar. Sort the berries, rinse, blanch in boiling water for 2 minutes. Place in liter jars to the top and fill with syrup. Cover with lids, sterilize for 20 minutes, and roll up.
Gooseberry compote with oranges. For a 3-liter jar: 1 orange, 2 cups. gooseberries, 300 g sugar, 2 liters of water. Place peeled oranges and gooseberries cut into slices into sterilized jars. Pour in syrup and roll up.
Compote of apples and chokeberries. For a 3-liter jar: 2-3 apples, 1 cup. chokeberry, 2.5 liters of water, 3 cups. sugar, 1 tsp. citric acid. Sterilize jars. Boil the syrup. Cut the apples into slices. Place berries and apples in jars, pour syrup, and roll up. Turn over and let cool.
Chokeberry compote. For a 3-liter jar: 300-500 g of chokeberry, 250 g of sugar, 2.5 liters of water. Pour berries into the prepared jars (2-3 fingers), add sugar. Pour boiling water over it and roll it up. Turn the jars upside down.
Very interesting compotes are made from berries in their own juice. They also need to be diluted before use.
"Pleasure"(raspberries in their own juice). For 1 kg of raspberries - 1 kg of sugar. Place the prepared raspberries (preferably not washed, otherwise all the juice will leak out) into an enamel bowl and cover with sugar. Leave it overnight. When exposed to sugar, raspberries will produce juice. Then place the raspberries in jars, cover with lids and sterilize for 15 minutes. Roll up.
"Maturity"(cherries in their own juice). Sort out the ripe cherries, wash them, place them in jars to the top, cover with lids and sterilize for 5-10 minutes. Roll up.
"Strawberry Summer"(strawberries in their own juice). Mix the sorted and washed strawberries with sugar at the rate of 1 kg of sugar per 4 kg of berries, leave for 8-10 hours. Place in jars, pour in the released juice, and sterilize for 10 minutes. Roll up.
Assorted compotes turn out bright and elegant. 
Assorted strawberries and cherries. For 10 half-liter jars: 2 kg of strawberries, 2 kg of cherries, 650 g of sugar. The prepared berries are placed in clean, dry jars and filled with sugar syrup (300 g of sugar per 700 g of water). The temperature of the syrup should be 50-60ºС. The filled jars are covered with lids, placed in a pan of water at 40ºC and sterilized from the moment of boiling for 10 minutes. Roll up, turn over, cool.
Assorted sea buckthorn and rose hips “Vitaminnoe”. For 1 kg of sea buckthorn: 1 kg of apples, 600 g of rose hips. For filling: 1 liter of water and 450 g of sugar. Peel the apples. Cut into slices, blanch in boiling water for 3-5 minutes and immediately plunge into cold water. Cut large ripe rose hips in half, remove seeds and hairs. Place sea buckthorn, apples and rose hips in layers in jars up to the shoulders, shaking the jar. Pour hot syrup and set to sterilize: half-liter - 15 minutes, liter - 25 minutes. Roll up.
A few more mixture options for assorted compote:
Peaches - 30%, pears - 30%, yellow cherries - 30%, tangerines - 10%.
. Peaches - 30%, pears - 30%, apricots - 30%, yellow cherries - 10%.
. Chokeberry - 60%, cherry - 40%.
. Cherry - 70%, black currant - 30%.
. Gooseberries - 40%, raspberries or black currants - 40%, strawberries or apples - 20%.
All these compotes are prepared with 40-45% syrup (per 1 liter of water - 400-450 g of sugar), using a sterilization method.
Preparing compotes for the winter can be very interesting and original, because fruits, berries and even vegetables offer such scope for creativity!
Happy preparations!
Larisa Shuftaykina
Compotes for the winter - recipes with photos
We suggest trying our recipe for compotes in jars for the winter without sterilization. It will allow you to make preparations quickly and make you happy during the cool season!
3 l
45 min
100 kcal
5/5 (5)
The one who likes to make seams as simply, quickly and efficiently as possible is me. By nature I am very lazy, so I like to simplify everything to the maximum. Hence my interest in recipes for winter rolls, which does not take much time and effort.
When I first started making preparations for the winter, I was perplexed: how did my grandmother, who lived in the village alone, looked after her grandchildren in the summer and had a whole household, manage to prepare compotes for three families. The answer turned out to be simple - she simply cooked without sterilization. This is the first rule. The second rule is that she came up with recipes for compotes literally on the go. What I collected in the garden went into jars. The third rule of the grandmother is to use berries and fruits exclusively fresh, send them for harvesting almost from the bush.
- We use the grandmother’s rule: we select the freshest, most elastic, without rot, berries and fruits.
- We sort berries and fruits by size. It is not advisable to use berries and fruits of different sizes in one jar. Large pieces of fruit will not release enough of their juice, while small pieces may fall apart. This will directly affect the appearance, taste and safety of the seaming.
- We definitely pay attention to the degree of maturity. Berries and fruits must be ripe enough for the syrup to be rich and bright.
- Be sure to sort through the berries and fruits, remove excess debris, leaves, and insects.
- When cooking compote, it is better not to remove the seeds, then the berries, such as cherries and plums, will retain their shape for a long time. But I always remove the pit from fruits. For example, I cut peaches and apricots in half and remove the pit. If we cook compote from apples, then it is also better to get rid of the seeds. But, this is all very individual and to taste.
- If you want to roll berries with branches, such as grapes, be especially careful when washing such products.
Ingredients
| Fruits and berries | 1.5-2 kg |
| Granulated sugar | 400 g |
| Water | Taste |
We definitely take into account how sweet and juicy our berries and fruits are. The more sour the berry (gooseberries, red currants, cherries), the more sugar is required. Cherries, raspberries, peaches, and nectarines will require less sugar.
Don't be afraid to experiment, mix berries and fruits with each other. Create combinations of berries and fruits to suit your taste.
- Wash the fruits and berries thoroughly, let them drain, and dry them on a towel.
- Place into pre-washed and steamed sterilized jars. We put plenty of berries or fruits, at least a third of the jar, and preferably half. Then the compote will have a rich and bright taste. If the compote turns out to be cloying, you can always dilute it with water before use.
- Pour boiling water over it and let it brew under the lid for at least 15 minutes.
- Pour the water from the cans into a huge saucepan and add sugar according to the proportions. Mix the sugar thoroughly until completely dissolved. Add some water to the resulting syrup. This is important, since during cooking some of the water will evaporate, and as a result, one of the jars will not be completely filled.
- Bring the resulting syrup to a boil and pour into jars. Make sure that the syrup fills the jar to the very brim. If air gets into the jar, it may swell.
- Cover the top with lids that have been boiled for 5 minutes and roll up with a machine.
- We turn the jars over and place them on the lids, bottom up.
- Be sure to wrap the jars with something warm, such as a blanket, and leave them in that position until they cool completely.
There are many recipes for compotes for the winter at home; in fact, they can be roughly divided into only two groups: sterilized compotes and rolled compotes without sterilization. The approach to choosing a method is determined only by personal preferences. It’s easier for one to put all the ingredients in a jar and let it cook for half an hour - you get a natural assortment. Other housewives prefer recipes where you need to pour and roll.
Compotes for the winter without sterilization
Whatever recipe you choose for rolling compote, you will have to follow the basic principles of preparing food and utensils:
- carefully check the presentation of the selected fruits (the main thing is not to miss spots of rot);
- cleanliness of fruits and berries before pouring syrup is the key to successful storage of compote in winter;
- It must be remembered that during long-term storage of compotes made from stone fruits, such as apricots, peaches, plums, cherries and others, cyanide acid passes into the product, so the stones must be removed from them. Under no circumstances should you store a jar of compote with seeds for more than a year (if you have already closed it).
Lesson 1. Master class on compotes for the winter without sterilization
Compote for the winter from any available berries and fruits (assorted) can be prepared without unnecessary hassle: tedious two- and three-time fillings and sterilization, which threatens extensive burns. The general principle of canning for the winter is the same. Only the preparation of the fruit differs. The basic recipe for preparing such a compote requires only presence of berries, fruits, water and sugar.
Several types of delicious berries collected in one jar create a real bouquet of taste. Even the word “compote” itself is translated as “composition, mixture.” This is what it is - assorted.
Everything, of course, must be washed thoroughly and the water allowed to drain (on a wire rack, or dried on a towel). Large fruits that do not fit into the jar must be cut and cored (remove the pits from peaches). The grapes do not need to be separated from the bunches, just washed with special care.
In order not to scold yourself afterwards, washing jars and sterilization must be approached with the utmost scrupulousness if the result is important. You can simply hold several jars over boiling water (over a kettle, for example). A large quantity, the easiest way is to sterilize in the oven. It is enough to boil the seaming lids for a few minutes.
The choice of the volume of glass containers for sealing must be approached based on the consideration: the compote should not be left open even for several hours!
Fill the cooled jars approximately 1/3 full with prepared berries or fruits (only add more strawberries, up to half the jar, since they boil down a lot). Immediately cover the jars with sterile lids.
At the same time, in order not to waste time, syrup is boiled at the rate of 200 grams of granulated sugar (this is about a finger from the edge of a tea glass) per 1 liter of water.
And now, most importantly, the “know-how”:
Lesson 2. Compote for the winter in half an hour
If there is a need to cook only one or two jars of compote, there is no point in making a mess with boiling water and basins. Naturally, jars and lids are prepared similarly to the previous recipe.
- Place clean berries and fruits in clean jars and fill them to the top with boiling water, covering them with lids.
- After about five minutes (the fruits and berries should have time to warm up), this water is carefully poured into a saucepan, sugar is added at the rate of 200 grams per 3-liter jar and put on fire. Of course, those with a sweet tooth can add as much sugar as they like.
- As soon as the syrup boils, pour it into a jar and roll it up immediately. As always, turn the rolled up jars over and wrap them up at least overnight.
This is how you can prepare a couple of jars of compote for the winter in 30 minutes from any sweet fruits or berries.
Lesson 3. Straight from pan to jar
It seems strange to talk about the correct combination of fruits and berries in a compote: they put what is available in a jar, that’s why it’s assorted. There is no arguing about tastes, as they say. How to roll up blanched berries with compote has already been discussed above.
You can do it even simpler. This recipe is better for rolling compotes from quince, apples, plums. Tender raspberries and strawberries will lose all their beauty.
First you need to solve the question itself - Is sterilization necessary at all? You can, of course, ideally wash the jars and boil the lids. However, it is impossible to imagine how a velvety apricot can be brought to a sterile state? The risk of microorganisms entering the jar is very high even with ladle spoons.
Lesson 4. And a little sourness
Adding citric acid or natural lemon juice to the recipe will not only add a pleasant refreshing sourness to sweet raspberry or strawberry compote. The acid perfectly serves as a preservative in products without sterilization. Just be sure to take into account that sugar consumption in this case it increases slightly. As a result, to prepare 3 liters of compote without sterilization, you will need the following recipe:
- approximately 1 liter of berries (optional, arbitrary quantity)
- from 300 grams of sugar (to taste)
- 5 grams of powdered citric acid (this is about a level teaspoon), or squeeze the juice out of half a medium lemon.
The last point will represent the pinnacle of culinary ingenuity.
Lesson 5. Compote prepares itself!
There are recipes for assorted compotes for the winter that cannot be called anything other than “advanced”.
The recipe captivates with its originality, which allows you to roll up assorted compote for the winter not only without sterilization, but also without separate preparation of syrup!
So, for a 3-liter jar, according to the recipe, you need to take half a kilogram of sugar and about a liter of berries. It is advisable to add citric acid (2-3 grams) to sweet berries.
Process sequence:
This recipe for making compote for the winter gives very rich taste of the product, so most likely you will have to dilute it with boiled water. But the slightly increased sugar content allows the product to be stored at room temperature. At the same time, due to short thermal exposure, such preparations retain their vitamin content better.
Summer is the season of berries, which you want to extend not only thanks to beautiful photos of the harvest. Housewives try to turn the gifts of the garden into long-lasting preparations that remind them of warm days in winter. Cherry compote is one of the best ways to process this berry, which requires a minimum of effort. The result of the work is always incredibly tasty and aromatic.
How to make cherry compote for the winter
Preserving drinks from berries is a simple process, and according to housewives, it is also less energy-consuming than making jam. Every woman, even one who does not have outstanding culinary skills, can figure out how to make cherry compote for the winter. The process looks like this:
- Cans with lids are selected - professionals recommend taking larger containers rather than liter ones.
- Storage containers are prepared: washed, sterilized using steam, a microwave, an oven or a regular pan of water. The lids, if they are metal (when you need to roll up the workpieces), are boiled.
- The drink itself is brewed. This is done from peeled and always pitted cherries, otherwise it will receive some toxins.
- The jars are filled with the drink, according to some recipes - in 2-3 stages. They are then sterilized or can be rolled up immediately.
Additionally, there are several nuances that relate to both the quality and taste of the compote:
- Before closing the drink, you can throw in some ginger: 1-2 cm of fresh root, which is cut very finely. The second most popular spice additive is cardamom.
- Canning compotes of the “multi-fruit” type is very common: absolutely any berries, plums, apples, pears are added to the recipe. The cooking principle often remains the same - the same as implied in the chosen recipe.
- If you plan to make a compote that will be eaten before winter, you can leave the seeds in the berries: they will give sourness and a strong aroma. However, it is not advisable to store the drink with them for longer than 3-4 months.
- Cherry compote is one of the few for which the proportion of sugar should be increased. The longer the cherry sits, the more juice it releases, making the product more sour.
How to seal cherry compote for the winter without sterilization
Professionals say that most recipes can be adapted to a simplified scheme of actions and do without the need to sterilize the drink. However, experienced housewives know that with minimal violations of the technology, the workpiece is damaged, or the jars explode, so if you want to avoid sterilization, you need to use only a proven recipe for compote for the winter. Below we consider 2 step-by-step technologies for its preparation, tested by more than one thousand housewives.
With citric acid
The justification for introducing this ingredient into cherry compote, from the position of professionals, is extremely doubtful. The chemical composition of this berry contains a sufficient amount of acid to carry out canning without the additional addition of lemon juice. However, if we talk about how to make cherry compote for the winter, bypassing the stage of sterilization of the drink, this additive is “reinsurance”, giving a greater likelihood of safety of the workpiece.
The list of ingredients is as follows:
- cherries - enough to fill a three-liter jar to the brim;
- sugar – 3 cups;
- mint leaves – 4-5 pcs.;
- citric acid – 1 tsp.
How to make such a cherry compote for the winter? The technology is simple:
- Sort through the berries and wash. Squeeze out the seeds.
- Sterilize jars - the method is chosen individually.
- Fill each of them exactly 1/3 of the height.
- Boil water (a little less than needed to fill the jar to the brim). Pour over the cherries so as to leave some free space for air (from the shoulders to the throat).
- Add a little citric acid to each jar.
- Roll up the lids, turn the workpiece over, and let cool under a thick cloth.
Sugarless
It is recommended for women who are watching their weight to prepare compote according to this recipe. The product is sugar-free, almost not sweet, but has a rich spicy aroma and has a good effect on metabolism due to the range of spices. They also provide the drink with storage for several winters. The set of products for 4 cans of 3 l each is simple:
- cherry – 1.2 kg;
- clove buds – 6-8 pcs.;
- cinnamon sticks - for each jar;
- vanillin - a pinch.
It’s easy to prepare such a compote for the winter:
- Sort the washed berries and remove the seeds.
- Fill the jars with cherries.
- Boil water, add spices, heat for a couple of minutes.
- Pour over the berries, cover with lids, and let stand.
- After half an hour, drain the syrup, let it boil and fill the jars back with it.
- Roll up the lids and check the workpiece for leakage by turning it over.
