Simple Strawberry Compote – A Couple Cooks

May 2, 2024

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This strawberry compote recipe makes a thick, candy sauce that’s good for drizzling over ice cream, waffles, cheesecake and extra!

Received ripe berries? Right here’s a fast and enjoyable means to make use of them: make strawberry compote! Cooking down strawberries with a little bit of sugar reduces it into shiny, luxurious tangy sauce that’s like an amped model of taking a chew into this candy berry.

Why we love this recipe: This strawberry compote is outrageously tangy and bursting with candy berry taste! Alex and I like whipping this up as a flexible topping for ice cream, pancakes, waffles, or oatmeal. A compote is an effective way to make use of fruit that’s virtually overripe, however there’s no want to attend for that for this recipe. Anytime is the right excuse!

Components for strawberry compote

A compote is a fruit sauce the place the fruit is cooked with water, sugar, and seasonings till thickened. Compote works as a candy sauce for desserts, or to spoon over breakfast objects like yogurt, oatmeal and waffles. This strawberry compote has a minimal ingredient checklist and comes collectively in simply quarter-hour! Right here’s what you’ll want:

Contemporary strawberries: Each contemporary strawberries and frozen berries work in a compote. It’s fast to make with both and there’s no thawing required.
Granulated sugar: The sort of sugar brings out probably the most intense candy tart taste and helps to make a thick, syrupy compote. You can even substitute pure maple syrup or honey as pure sweeteners, and the style is comparable.
Lemon zest: Contemporary lemon zest brings a pop to the flavour; the acidity of the lemon is nearly like salt in a savory dish. Whereas it’s non-obligatory, we extremely advocate it!
Cornstarch: Utilizing cornstarch makes a thick, shiny physique to this sauce. cornstarch substitute is arrowroot powder.
Vanilla extract and salt: These components round out the flavour.

The way to make strawberry compote (primary steps)

Strawberry compote is fast and easy to make: you’ll want about 5 minutes to prep the strawberries and 5 minutes to cook dinner them. Listed here are the essential steps (or soar to the full recipe):

Step 1: Add the strawberries to a small saucepan with the sugar, lemon zest, and a couple of tablespoons of the water. Prepare dinner over medium warmth, stirring often whereas it bubbles gently.

Step 2: After 5 to 7 minutes when strawberries begin to break down, whisk 2 tablespoons water with 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Pour the combination into the pan and stir till thickened, 1 minute. Scale back the warmth. Mash the strawberries with a potato masher or fork.

Step 3: Take away from the warmth and stir within the salt and vanilla. Style and add extra sweetener, relying on the ripeness of your berries. The compote will thicken because it cools. Serve heat or cooled barely.

Utilizing a cornstarch slurry

This strawberry compote recipe makes use of a cornstarch slurry: a mixture of cornstarch and water (or one other room temperature liquid). If dry cornstarch is added on to a dish, it clumps up. So, it’s finest so as to add it to sauces and stir fries combined with somewhat liquid first.

Cornstarch have to be heated to round 203°F for the thickening to happen. It’s referred to as “starch gelatinization,” which is a flowery phrase for the method the place the the particles of cornstarch soak up water. When you add the cornstarch slurry to the nice and cozy sauce, it instantly begins to thicken: the starch gelatinization has been activated!

Strawberry Compote in jar with spoon and strawberries.

Storage data

How lengthy does selfmade strawberry compote final? Retailer it refrigerated for as much as 2 weeks. Or, you’ll be able to freeze it in a freezer protected container for as much as 6 months.

Compote turns into very thick when it’s cooled, so make sure that to deliver to room temperature or heat it on the stovetop earlier than serving. That is particularly vital in case you’re serving with a heat meals like pancakes or waffles.

Strawberry Compote in a jar with gold spoon.

Methods to serve strawberry compote

There are such a lot of methods to serve strawberry compote! This fruit sauce is flexible sufficient to work with desserts or breakfast meals objects. Listed here are just a few concepts for easy methods to serve fruit compote:

Dietary notes

This strawberry compote recipe is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.

Continuously requested questions

What’s the distinction between strawberry compote and strawberry jam?

Compote is a looser and fresher-tasting fruit sauce in comparison with jam. It makes use of much less sugar and cooks the strawberries for a shorter time, preserving their form and a few of their pure texture.

Can I exploit frozen strawberries for compote?

Completely! Thaw frozen strawberries fully earlier than utilizing them within the compote. They could launch extra liquid, so regulate the cooking time barely to attain the specified consistency.

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