Fruit compote is a dish commonly prepared by simmering fruit, whole or in pieces, in sugar syrup.
It’s delicious paired with yogurt, pancakes, crepes, waffles, ice cream, toast, granola, nuts, shortbread, etc.
It can also be used as the base for a cobbler, tart, or crisp.
This recipe includes no added sugar, using only the sweetness of apple cider, orange juice, and fruit, though extra sweetener such as honey or maple syrup can be added if desired.
Watch out: Go easy on refined sugar intake. Being stripped of all its vitamins and minerals, refined sugar actually draws on the body’s reserve of vitamins and minerals in order to be metabolized. The negative effects of sugar are endless, from immediately depressing your immune system and overstressing the pancreas, to the more obvious tooth decay and weight gain.
Gingered fruit compote
Ingredients
3 persimmons, Fuyu variety
1-2 pears, firm
1-2 apples
1 cup apple cider or juice, can dilute with water if wanting to reduce sweetness
Zest and juice of 1 organic orange
Zest of 1 organic lemon
1 small or medium piece of ginger root, grated, or sliced and removed after cooking
1/3 cup of organic raisins
Optional:
1 teaspoon of chia seeds added after at least slightly cooled
Crushed pecans, walnuts, brazil nuts, or sliced almonds before serving
Recipe
1) Peel, core, and cut the persimmons, pears and apples.
2) Bring to boil the apple cider/juice (can be cut or substituted with water), the orange juice and zest, the lemon zest, and the ginger.
3) Add the chopped apples, cover, and simmer about 10 minutes, until just tender. Then add the chopped pear, cover, and simmer 5 minutes. Next, add the chopped persimmons and the raisins.
4) Cook on low about another 5 minutes, stirring very gently as necessary.
5) When all the fruit is tender and the raisins are plump, turn off the heat. Chia seeds can be added after it slightly cools, which will thicken it up a bit.
6) Serve warm or chilled. Sprinkle on crushed pecans, walnuts, brazil nuts, or sliced almonds to garnish before serving.
*** Just about any fruit can be substituted or added, dried or fresh: guava, plums, figs, strawberries, apricots, prunes, cranberries, etc. The more delicate the fruit, the shorter the amount of time it should be cooked. Really delicate fruit like raspberries and pomegranate seeds should be added raw at the end of cooking.
You can also use other spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, mace, or substitute with dry powdered ginger.
Healing with Herbs
Both ginger and citrus peel are warming herbs that have long been valued as medicine. Their medicinal uses are vast, from treating cold and flu, providing relief from digestive disorders, easing congestion in the lungs, to supporting the liver. Ginger is also an effective remedy for menstrual discomfort, motion sickness, nausea from chemotherapy, and headaches. Try rubbing a few drops of ginger juice over the affected area when you have a headache.
Reference: Wood, Rebecca. The New Encyclopedia of Healing Foods. New York: Penguin, 1999.
