Polish apple compote for winter: apples in cinnamon syrup, in jars
One of the simplest preserves there is: apple quarters in jars covered with hot sugar syrup, a cinnamon stick in each, pasteurised for twenty minutes. In winter it is a drink with dinner and a dessert in one: you drink the compote and eat the soft apples with a spoon. Two kilos of apples make four litre jars.
Your own work in that: 30 min.
- Apples and jars 20 min
- Syrup 10 min
- Pasteurising 20 min
- Cooling 25 min
Step by step
0 / 6 donePeel and cut the apples
Peel the apples, cut into quarters, remove the cores. Drop the quarters straight into a bowl of cold water with the lemon juice so they don't brown. Scald four litre jars and their lids with boiling water.
Ingredients: 2000 g apples · 2000 ml water · 300 g sugar · 1 pcs lemon, juice · 4 pcs cinnamon sticks
TipFirm, tart varieties stay in quarters through pasteurising. Soft, fluffy ones (such as Bramley) collapse into purée; tasty too, but no longer compote.
Quarters into lemon waterPack the jars
Pack the drained quarters snugly into the jars to three-quarters full, with a cinnamon stick in each. Don't force them in: the apples should float in syrup, not stand crushed in it.
Three-quarters full, cinnamon in eachBoil the syrup
Bring the water and sugar to the boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. A 15 % syrup (150 g sugar per litre) gives a lightly sweet compote for drinking; if you like it sweeter, 200 g per litre.
TipSugar at this level doesn't preserve; the pasteurising does. You can go as low as 100 g per litre and the compote is simply tarter.
Water, sugar, until dissolvedPour over the hot syrup
Pour the boiling syrup into the jars to cover the apples, reaching 2 cm below the rim. Wipe the threads, screw the lids on tightly.
Hot syrup 2 cm from the rimPasteurise
Stand the jars in a large pot on a folded cloth, add hot water to three-quarters of their height, bring to the boil and pasteurise 20 minutes from the boil over low heat. Lift out, stand upside down 10 minutes, turn upright and leave to cool.
Twenty minutes from the boilIn winter
Sealed jars keep a year in a cool pantry; keep any whose lids have not sealed in the fridge and open them first. Serve the compote cold or gently warmed with cinnamon; the apples go on crepes, into porridge, or straight from the jar with a spoon. An opened jar keeps 4 days in the fridge.
Compote in the glass, apples by the spoon
Before you start
With pears or plums
Half apples, half pears, or a handful of damsons in each jar. With damsons the compote turns pink and tastes more intense. Pears are low in acid, so when using them add a tablespoon of lemon juice to each jar.
With cloves and vanilla
Two cloves per jar instead of cinnamon, or a piece of vanilla pod in the syrup: the Christmas version.
The apples floated up
That's normal: apples are lighter than syrup. After a week or two they soak through and sink. What matters is that the syrup covers them when the lid goes on.