Kompot

Kompot is a sweet, non-alcoholic drink made by simmering fruit in plenty of water and sweetening it, served hot or cold depending on tradition and season. It is deeply rooted in Central and Eastern Europe and is also found in the Balkans, Scandinavia and much of Central Asia.

History

The name comes from the French word compote, which refers to fruit cooked in syrup. In Slavic and neighbouring languages it took forms such as compot, компот or kompót, and it came to mean both the dessert and the drink made by boiling fruit with sugar.

For centuries it was mainly a way of preserving fruit. Before refrigeration, cooking fruit in sweetened water allowed it to be kept through the winter, a practice common across Central, Eastern and parts of Southern Europe and the Caucasus. In 1885, the Polish author Lucyna Ćwierczakiewiczowa wrote in a recipe book that kompot preserved fruit so well it seemed fresh, an early record of this role.

After food rationing ended and fruit juice, soft drinks and mineral water became widely available, its consumption declined from the 1980s, although it remains common in many homes.

Culture

Kompot belongs to the home cooking of many countries, and each family has its own version depending on the fruit available. Seasonal fruit is usually chosen, such as strawberries, apricots, peaches, apples, rhubarb, gooseberries or sour cherries, sometimes with raisins or honey added. In winter it is often drunk hot with vanilla or cinnamon, while in summer it is served cold.

Its presence extends across Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and other countries of the region, as well as Scandinavia, the Balkans and Central Asia. In Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan it remains a regular drink. A close relative is uzvar or vzvar, a similar beverage made with dried fruit and sweetened with honey or sugar.