Can I use frozen fruit to make kompot?

Totally! Frozen peaches, berries, and cherries are perfect for kompot.

Can I use dried fruit?

Technically, yes. Although we never used dried fruit in my family, my husband’s Polish aunt makes a “Christmas Eve” version entirely from dried fruit. I do believe the kompot would need to simmer for longer though, to rehydrate the fruit.

Why is my kompot cloudy?

The clarity of your kompot will depend on the type of fruit you use, and how much the fruit disintegrates during the cooking and cooling processes. Cloudy or clear, either way it’s delicious!

What can I do with the boiled fruit?

I haven’t tried it yet, but I think you could purée the boiled fruit and cook it down like apple butter .

Kompot (Ukrainian Homemade Fruit Drink)

Description

Kompot is a classic Eastern European homemade fruit beverage. You can make it with almost any fruit you have.

Ingredients

Scale

2 1/2 pounds fruit of your choice* (see note below)
4 cups filtered water
2–4 tablespoons granulated sugar, to taste

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Instructions

Thoroughly wash all the fruit. Remove the cores/pits from all fruit and cut up into roughly 1-inch chunks.
Place all the fruit in a medium pot and add 4 cups filtered water; the fruit should be just barely covered.
Cover with a lid and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
Turn the heat off and stir in 2 tablespoons sugar. (The kompot will taste pretty weak at this point.) Let the mixture stand until cooled – at least 2 hours. (Alternatively, you can cool it overnight in the fridge.) The drink will infuse during this time and intensify in flavor.
Taste the kompot before serving and add more sugar if needed. Some people like to strain kompot before drinking, while others like to eat the fruit. Kompot can be served warm, at room temp, or cold. (I prefer it cold.) If you’re gonna leave the drink in the fridge to enjoy over a few days, leave the fruit inside as the flavor will keep intensifying. Consume within 4 days.

Notes

Here I used 1 apple, 2 small pears, and 1 pound fresh strawberries. (You can use any combination of: apples, pears, apricots, peaches, plums, raspberries, strawberries, cranberries, and/or cherries.) Choose organic, if possible.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 cup
Calories: 23
Carbohydrates: 6.3 g