Healthy Cherry Juice

Healthy cherry juice (compote). Compote, also known as Kompot* in my language, is the drink that will forever change the way you think about fruit juice. This version uses fresh cherries, plums, and golden raisins. The combo of deep red cherries and plums produces the most beautiful red-hued drink, which tastes like heaven on a hot summer day. 

This incredible beverage can be produced using two different methods: boiling, straining, and chilling, or marinating fresh fruit in sugar water. Whichever method you choose, this is a delicious way to savor summer fruits and create a refreshing drink that everyone will love. 

The sweetness and potency of the fruitiness is completely up to you: you can always add less or more sugar or fruit, or you can reduce the concentration by cutting the kompot with extra water when serving.

I grew up enjoying cold glasses of kompot, which my family made from the many fruit trees on our property. Kompot is a staple in Eastern Europe: enjoyed chilled from the refrigerator on warm days or served hot for a winter pick-me-up. When canned and stored properly, kompot can last on pantry shelves well into winter, giving you a taste of summer on a dreary cold day.

Don’t throw out the leftover, mushy fruit from your kompot! After straining the leftover fruit, blend it into a thick fruit puree and use in pancakes, smoothies, spread on toast, and more.

Cherry Juice

The Modern Nonna

This version uses fresh cherries, plums, and golden raisins. The combo of deep red cherries and plums produces the most beautiful red-hued drink, which tastes like heaven on a hot summer day. 

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Servings 3 litres

Ingredients

• 3.5 litres (1 gallon) filtered water
• 8 cups fresh cherries (pitted is optional)
• 6 red plums, pits removed
• 1 cup golden raisins
• 1 apple, cored and halved

Instructions

 

• Add 3.5 litres (1 gallon) of filtered water to a large pot.
• Add the fruit to the pot and bring to a boil. Semi-cover the pot with a lid and reduce the heat to medium-low. Let boil for 60 minutes.
• After one hour, remove the fruit with a sieve or kitchen spider. Set the fruit aside.
• NOTE: if the cherries are pitted, you can process the fruits with a touch of sweetener for a delicious fruit puree or compost it as usual. You can also enjoy the stewed fruit on toast with mascarpone or creamy cheese and a drizzle of honey on top.
• I like to cool the liquid to room temperature, strain it into a bowl or mason jars, and chill in the fridge.
• Serve over ice and enjoy!

Notes

Remove the pitted fruit from the pot with a sieve and process it with sweetener of choice to make the most beautiful fruit purée. You can use the fruit purée in baking, on top of pancakes, chia pudding, and so much more. 

Feel free to add any fruit you like to the pot of water. You can use cherries, plums, apples, pears, peaches, or a combination of fruits. Double or triple the quantity of fruit for a more potent juice. 

Strain the juice and chill it in the fridge and pour over ice. You can serve it in a pitcher on a hot summer day. 

Canning Kompot (Compote): we add chopped up fruit to the bottom of a mason jar with a bit of sugar and cover with water. We add a lid and boil the jars. This canning method ensures we have Kompot all winter long, so if you feel confident in your canning skills, you can give this a try too. 

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