This recipe for Apple Pear Compote is a delicious way to add some fresh fruit flavors to any meal.
Our compote uses Red Delicious apples, Bartlett pears and golden raisins that have been cooked in a mixture of lemon juice, sugar, vanilla and a blend of spices. We’ve also added Calvados, a French apple brandy, which adds an extra level of delicious flavors to this apple pear compote.
A compote (which means “mixture” in French) originated in 17th century France as a dessert made with whole or pieces of fruit that have been cooked in a sugar syrup. According to Wikkipedia, the French invented compote believing that fruit cooked in sugar syrup balanced the effects of humidity on the body.
While originally served as a dessert (this is fabulous served warm over vanilla ice cream!), we think this apple pear compote is equally good as a side dish to pork or chicken.
PrintApple Pear Compote
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6–8 servings 1x
- Category: Jams and Jellies
- Method: Stove top
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup golden raisins
- 2 tablespoons butter
- Juice of half a lemon
- Zest of one lemon
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- Pinch of nutmeg
- Pinch of powdered ginger
- Pinch of allspice
- 1 tablespoon Calvados or apple jack (optional – but highly recommended for its flavor)
- 6 Red Delicious apples, peeled, cored and cut into bite sized pieces
- 2 Bartlett pears, peeled, cored and cut into bite sized pieces
Instructions
- Combine raisins, butter, lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar, vanilla, salt, spices and brandy in a large pan and heat and stir to blend ingredients.
- Add apples and pears and simmer 15 minutes or until sauce is thick and fruit is tender.
Notes
If rhubarb is in season, you can replace the pears with rhubarb and increase sugar to ½ a cup.
You may also like:
Kielbasa and Red Cabbage Skillet with Apples
Chicken and Apples in Honey Mustard
Overall, a great simple and easy recipe to get some fruit in your diet. My husband loves baked apples and apple compote. I have to plead guilty to messing with the recipe. Some things I didn’t have in my pantry on short notice; no apple brandy so I used Marsala cooking wine instead. Nice depth of flavor. I didn’t have any ginger (shame on me!) so I used ground cardamom instead. Slightly different flavor I guess but it was still yummy and not too much prep time . Thanks!
You’re welcome Barbara – I like your adaptations! 🙂