Easy Peach Compote
In less than a hour, make a simple warm stew of peaches mixed with warm spices to make a compote you can spoon over cakes, ice cream and meringues.
What is a Peach Compote?
A compote is simply sliced fresh fruit cooked in sugar, spices and alcohol like Calvados or wine. You can add apple juice if desired. Cook until the fruit is sweetened and softened and spoon into glasses with cubes of cake, pour over pound cake, meringues or ice cream. It’s even perfect on it’s own in a bowl or with sweet, crumbled cookies like shortbread, digestive biscuits or sugar cookies. Store leftovers in the fridge in a glass jar for up to 1 week.
Compote is unlike a jam in that it does not have much sugar added to it and the fruit is relatively still in tack and not finely chopped or processed.
Ingredients in Peach Compote:
- sugar
- fresh ginger
- ground ginger
- cinnamon
- fresh peaches, sliced
- unsalted butter
- champagne, apple juice or Calvados
- water
- salt
Equipment needed for this peach compote:
- heavy bottomed saucepan- buy my favorite here
- wooden spoon or silicone spatula
- microplane- buy my favorite here
How to make peach compote:
Mix sugar with fresh grated ginger and spices. With clean hands, mix sugar well to incorporate the seasonings into the sugar. Set aside. Chop your peaches into thick slices.
Cook the peaches in a heavy bottom pan, adding calvados, champagne or fruit juice. Cook on a simmer until thick and the peaches have softened. Pour into airtight glass jars or containers and cool until needed or serve warm over you dessert of choice.
Fresh vs. frozen fruit?
There is nothing wrong with using frozen peaches. I truly think the only real difference will be in the texture and final aroma of the peach compote. Fresh peaches simmering on the stove top is a fantastic scent to fill your home. The taste will be very similar. If you cannot find fresh peaches, frozen are just fine. Buy peaches that are still unripe, place in a brown paper bag for 1-2 days then prepare the recipe. If you do not like the peel, slice an “X’ across the flesh of the fruit, place the peaches in boiling water for 10 seconds, them remove with a bamboo strainer. Peel the peaches easily as the skin will slip right off.
Variations to this recipe:
- Apple compote- take apples, chop or slice and cook the same except add cinnamon and cloves. Omit the ginger.
- Cherry peach compote- add cherries to the recipe for a burst of color. Add a splash of kirsch instead of calvados.
- Plum compote- add in just 1/2 tsp of ground ginger and one whole cinnamon stick.
Other Peach recipes to try:
Common Questions:
Yes, just warm in a saucepan or in the microwave in a heat proof bowl in 30 second bursts, stirring every 30 seconds. Store in the fridge for 1 week in a glass airtight jar or dish.
Yes- see my list of variations to this recipe above.
Apple juice will work fine.
It is a French apple brandy. Be sure to remove the pan from the heat before adding the Calvados.
Spoon the compote over slices of pound cake or angel food cake, stir in into a bowl of warm oatmeal, spoon on top of ice cream, or my favorite- make a Eton Mess style dessert with broken pieces of meringue, compote and whipped cream layered in a tall glass. It’s good enough to eat alone in a bowl.
Easy Peach Compote
Equipment
- 1 Small saucepan heavy bottomed pan works best to prevent scorching
- 1 microplane to zest fresh ginger
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 TBSP ginger freshly grated
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 4 large peaches, sliced yields 4-6 cups
- 1 TBSP unsalted butter
- ½ cup champagne, calvados or apple juice
- 2 TBSP water
- ⅛ tsp salt
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine sugar, ground ginger, cinnamon and fresh ginger. With clean hands, work the ginger into the sugar until well coated. The mixture should be sticky and fragrant. Set this spiced sugar mixture aside.
- Add the peaches to a small saucepan with the spiced sugar mixture and water. Cook on low heat until the sugar has melted and the mixture begins to bubble. Stir often with a silicone spatula to keep the peaches from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- Turn off the heat. Add the champagne or other liquid. Stir in the butter and salt. Return to low heat. Cook on low, partially covered, for 20-30 minutes until peaches are softened but not jammy.
- Remove from heat. Spoon warm onto cakes, pavlova or ice cream. Chill in the fridge in an airtight container up to five days.
Nutrition
Where to buy fresh peaches-
I love peaches right from a local market or grower such as Lane Orchards in Georgia or Thorp Produce in Washington State. Look in your local markets for peaches from June- September. I love to can summer produce- see from my photo above of 20 pounds of peaches being made into jam.
