A simple recipe for apple and currant compote for the winter
Blanks for the winter are a common thing for every housewife. Only compotes are made less often than all other marinades. Many do not recognize the fruits in this form, preferring to consume them fresh more. Compotes with apples and currants for the winter are not only tasty, but also healthy. Each ingredient has a certain positive effect on the human body in its own way, and together they become even more useful.
Features of making apple and currant compote
To prepare a delicious compote for the winter, it is important to comply with some requirements. In addition to preserving useful properties, this will help keep the finished drink longer:
- To preserve the elements in the fruit, it is necessary to reduce the duration of heat treatment to a minimum.
- In order to preserve the color of the apples, they are blanched. The fruits are placed in a colander and dipped in boiling water, then chilled sharply. The water that remains after this procedure is used to prepare pouring or cooking syrup.
- Apples de-core, some recipes recommend peeling.
- Using small apples, leave them whole.
There is nothing complicated in preparing compote from apples and currants, it is enough to clearly follow the steps of the recipe and perform all the necessary actions.
Preparation of ingredients
The final taste of the drink depends on how correctly the fruit is prepared. And also a set of vitamins that they contain:
- Selection of varieties. In order to create a certain contrast of tastes, sweet varieties of apples are used to prepare compote. Since currants are most often sour.
- All ingredients are thoroughly washed, dried and sorted. They should be free of stains, foul spots or other visible lesions. This feature affects the taste of the finished beverage.
- The apples are cut into several pieces, removing the core.
- To give an aesthetic look, currants are removed from the branches. But some housewives practice harvesting entirely directly with chopsticks.
After the main ingredients have been prepared, proceed with the further steps.
How to make apple and black currant compote at home
In order to brew a drink, you will need 3 liters of water, 0.5 kg of apples, 1 glass of currants, granulated sugar to taste and depending on the sweetness of the ingredients in the compote. Presumably from 5 tbsp. spoons up to 1-1.5 cups.
The apples are thoroughly washed in cold running water, divided into 4 equal parts and the cores removed.
Water is poured into a cooking container, apples and currants are immediately added. Bring to a boil over low heat. Then add sugar, wait until the mixture boils again. Then cover with a lid and boil for 5 minutes.
In order for the fruits to be well saturated with syrup, the finished compote is left to brew a little. For consumption immediately. But if the drink is closed for the winter, it is poured into pre-prepared sterilized jars. Close with lids, roll up and cover until they cool completely.
If the currant is red
To prepare this compote, you will need 0.5 kg of apples, a glass of currants, 3 liters of water and 1-2 glasses of sugar.
Granulated sugar is added to taste, do not forget that red berries are more acidic than black ones, so you need a little more sugar.
Cooking apples in both recipes is the same, they need to be washed, cut into 4 pieces and the centers removed.
Sort the currants, wash and put to dry. Pour water into a container, add chopped apples and bring to a boil, add sugar. Taste, add more granulated sugar if necessary.
When the workpiece boils, slow down the fire, boil for 2-3 minutes, add red currants, boil for another 1-2 minutes. Pour into prepared jars and roll up. Wrap up, keep at room temperature until it cools completely.
In general, the process of cooking currant-apple compote is the same, regardless of the color of the berry, which is involved in cooking. Only slight deviations are present.
If the currants are frozen
If it is not possible to harvest compotes for the winter, you can freeze the berry. Apples are stored in the cellar or bought fresh in the store. Thus, in the middle of winter, a wonderful vitamin drink is prepared, which will be useful for the whole family.
To prepare it, you need: 0.4-0.5 kg of apples, the presentation does not matter, a glass of frozen black currant berries (red is also suitable), water 3-3.5 liters, sugar to taste, depends on the preferences of the household and the variety currants.
Apples are washed, cut into pieces, cored. Water is put on fire, brought to a boil and the main ingredients are dipped in it. After boiling, pour the sugar, wait for it to completely dissolve, try it, add more if necessary.
Currants are not thawed, so it retains most of the nutrients.
After the mixture boils, leave to simmer over low heat for 5-7 minutes. Then they are removed from the heat and allowed to brew. The finished drink is filtered and poured into cans, stored in a refrigerator or a glazed balcony, provided that the temperature is above zero.
The berries left over after cooking are used as a filling for pies. Serve to the table if the household loves boiled fruits.
The recipe is simple, but there are a lot of benefits, so everyone who cares about their health takes note of it.
How to store such a compote
You don't need to do anything special, just store it in suitable conditions. So that efforts are not wasted in vain.
The storage room should have a positive temperature, from 0 to + 20 ⁰С. Relative humidity 80%. If you create such conditions, the compote is perfectly stored for a year or more.
Another important part of long-term storage is the exact adherence to the recipe, sterilized jars and lids.
Cooking compotes for the winter is not difficult, it is enough to purchase or collect the required amount of fruits, prepare them correctly, and a delicious vitamin drink will delight you throughout the entire cold period.
