Tart Rhubarb Compote

This compote recipe consists of only three ingredients and is intentionally prepared to be tart with a slight puckering flavour. Doing so allows the rhubarb compote to be paired with sweeter items like ice cream, squares and cookies. Tart Rhubarb Compote is also quite delicious paired with savoury foods like simple breakfast toast or roasted chicken!

Personally, I think that a compote is best prepared with frozen fruit rather than fresh. Can you use fresh? Yes, of course! The preference for frozen means that the fruit breaks down more quickly and that means I don’t have to cook it so long. My Tart Rhubarb Compote was prepared with last season’s rhubarb that I had cleaned, chopped, and frozen.

Frozen fruit always has more water content too, so if you are using fresh rhubarb for this recipe, add 3 tablespoons of water to the saucepan when preparing this recipe. I’m going to assume that if you are planning to make this recipe, you most likely will use fresh rhubarb since we are in rhubarb growing and harvesting season right now.

If you’ve been reading my recipes for a while, you might remember me telling you that we had a very small rhubarb patch in the back corner of our garden, which I was able to harvest twice the first summer we owned our home. That summer, we hired someone to cut our grass, and he rode his lawn mower right over the rhubarb! The second summer, we put up a small wire fence, and still, he managed to mow right over it, not once, but twice!

Last year, we hired gardener Wendy to help us with landscaping and she advised us to move the rhubarb to a raised garden bed, which we did. We were late doing it and the rhubarb had been tortured two years in a row with a lawnmower, so there was no harvesting last year. Anyway, Wendy caught on to the fact that I love to bake with rhubarb. She has another client, Anna, who just so happens to live just down the street from us. She mentioned it to Anna who asked Wendy to harvest a bunch of her rhubarb for us. Thanks, Anna G! I’m using the last of that rhubarb today.

RHUBARB WAS PLENTIFUL

When I was a kid, growing up in Newfoundland, rhubarb was a very common and well-loved product of the summer months.  My dad grew some rhubarb and still does, but I particularly remember one family who grew the biggest rhubarb I had ever seen – even to this date, I haven’t seen rhubarb so large or taste so good.

There might be a reason their rhubarb tasted better than all other rhubarb, and I’ll share that with you, Dear Reader. As I said, this rhubarb was extremely large.  It was a fenced-in patch of rhubarb that had to be about twenty or thirty feet square.  It was located right behind their house, which made it most difficult to steal.

Yes, I said steal.  Us kids would often slip our arms through the fence and pull out a stalk or two.  It was a perfect snack on a hot summer day.  Oftentimes, we would just so happen to be passing by when the owners were cutting down the rhubarb and they would always happily give us some.  I’m not sure why we thought we needed to steal it; had we knocked on the door and asked, I’m sure they would have given us a stalk and sent us on our way.

BLAME IT ON THE 80s!

I guess it’s just the kind of thing the kids in the 80s did.  It wasn’t just the rhubarb!  A nearby family grew crab apples and cherries, also inside a fenced-in yard, but we managed to get in there too, even if we did have to wait until after dark.  It’s been many years since I’ve been back to the small town where I grew up.  And, if I were to go back now, I’d still look for the familiar sights that were childhood favourites.

Both of the owners of these tempting gardens have passed away now.  But my memories of their delicious fruits still vividly remain.  Rest in peace Mr. & Mrs. Martin and Mr. & Mrs. Tilley.  It’s recipes like this one that reminds me of you and keep my fond childhood memories alive.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Rhubarb – You will need 8 cups of rhubarb cut into one-inch lengths. (You can use frozen or fresh. If using fresh rhubarb, add 3 tablespoons of water to the saucepan with the other ingredients.)
• Lemon Juice – Use fresh lemon juice for a brighter, more refreshing flavour.
• Sugar – Regular granulated sugar is all you need.

HOW TO MAKE A TART RHUBARB COMPOTE

Preparing a compote at home is quite easy to do. It is cheap and you can use it in so many ways! As previously mentioned, you can use fresh fruit or berries as well as frozen. You can also use dried or candied fruits too, but I have not tested this particular recipe with those.

Add your chopped rhubarb to a saucepan. If you are using fresh rhubarb, go ahead and add three tablespoons of water to the saucepan with the rhubarb now. Add in the lemon juice and the sugar. Over medium heat, cook the mixture, stirring often, until the rhubarb breaks down and a thick mixture remains. This will take about 20-30 minutes, depending on how much water content is in your rhubarb and how thick you want the compote to be.

The desired thickness level will vary. You will want to be able to spoon it up so that it remains slightly rounded on the spoon. Since rhubarb is fibrous, the compote will have a noticeable stringy look and texture. If you don’t care for that, you can cut the rhubarb into smaller pieces before preparing the compote.

Transfer the cooked compote to a clean, food-safe jar and pop a lid on it. Enjoy it warmed or chilled. Tart Rhubarb Compote will keep for 7-10 days refrigerated.

WHAT IS COMPOTE?

A compote is a dessert originating from medieval Europe. It is prepared using whole or chopped pieces of fruit in a sugary syrup. Many compote recipes will use seasonings and flavours such as vanilla, lemon or orange peel, cinnamon sticks or powder, cloves, etc.

You can also prepare a compote from dried fruits and berries. For example, candied fruit and raisins are quite popular in compote recipes. Historically, compote conformed to the medieval belief that fruit cooked in sugar syrup balanced the effects of humidity on the body. The name is derived from the Latin word compositus, meaning mixture.

In late medieval England, it was served at the beginning of the last course of a feast and was often accompanied by creamy potage. During the Renaissance, it was served chilled at the end of dinner. Because it was easy to prepare, made from inexpensive ingredients and contained no dairy products, compote became a staple of Jewish households throughout Europe.

HOW TO USE RHUBARB COMPOTE

As previously mentioned, rhubarb compote is wonderful served over ice cream. You can top your ice cream with chilled compote right from the fridge, or heat it up a little in the microwave first. It’s such a delicious and easy dessert that you can serve it with fresh strawberries. It is also quite good in layered desserts. Think about trifles or parfaits – compote would pair so well with whipped cream and/or custard layers.

You can prepare a Rhubarb Fool by stirring chilled compote into sweetened whipped cream. Try it on toast or stir a spoonful or two into your morning oatmeal. Spoon it onto a sponge cake or onto some freshly baked scones. The possibilities are endless! You can even spoon it over roasted chicken about 10 minutes before the chicken is fully cooked. Pop it back into the oven for those last 10 minutes and dig in!

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down below the recipe card to find my Follow Me on Social Media box and never miss another recipe!