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!

Acquired ripe berries? Right here’s a fast and enjoyable approach 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 really like whipping this up as a flexible topping for ice cream, pancakes, waffles, or oatmeal. A compote is a good 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 proper excuse!

Substances 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 gadgets like yogurt, oatmeal and waffles. This strawberry compote has a minimal ingredient listing and comes collectively in simply quarter-hour! Right here’s what you’ll want:

Recent 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: This sort of sugar brings out essentially the most intense candy tart taste and helps to make a thick, syrupy compote. You can too substitute pure maple syrup or honey as pure sweeteners, and the style is comparable.
Lemon zest: Recent lemon zest brings a pop to the flavour; the acidity of the lemon is nearly like salt in a savory dish. Whereas it’s optionally available, we extremely suggest it!
Cornstarch: Utilizing cornstarch makes a thick, shiny physique to this sauce. A superb cornstarch substitute is arrowroot powder.
Vanilla extract and salt: These substances round out the flavour.

The right way to make strawberry compote (fundamental 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 fundamental steps (or leap to the full recipe):

Step 1: Add the strawberries to a small saucepan with the sugar, lemon zest, and a pair of tablespoons of the water. Cook 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. Cut 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 greatest so as to add it to sauces and stir fries combined with a little bit liquid first.

Cornstarch should be heated to round 203°F for the thickening to happen. It’s referred to as “starch gelatinization,” which is a elaborate 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 information

How lengthy does selfmade strawberry compote final? Retailer it refrigerated for as much as 2 weeks. Or, you possibly can freeze it in a freezer secure container for as much as 6 months.

Compote turns into very thick when it’s cooled, so make sure that to convey to room temperature or heat it on the stovetop earlier than serving. That is particularly essential for those who’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 gadgets. Listed here are a couple of concepts for the best way 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 take advantage of frozen strawberries for compote?

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

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