This Mixed Berry Compote is juicy, sweet, and is a great topping on baked goods. My favorite way to eat this, is with my Fluffy, Vegan Spelt Pancakes. You have to try it out! All you need to make this Mixed Berry Compote are 5 ingredients, and a saucepan.

Ok, so first things first. You might be asking yourself. What the heck is a compote, and why don’t they just call it berry sauce? A compote is a thick sauce, that consists of whole fruit. It isn’t strained or blended like jams or jellies. The consistency of a compote is determined by what type of fruit you use, and how thick you want your sauce to be. If you use fresh berries, you are likely to have medium thick compote, due to the natural thickening agents called pectins, in the berry. But sometimes as the fruit cooks, it becomes runny, so you may want to add cornstarch to it, to thicken the sauce. Compotes are commonly paired with pancakes, waffles, pound cakes or short cakes, donuts, cheesecakes, and even on top of ice cream.

Ingredients for Mixed Berry Compote:

• Mixed berries: You are welcome to use frozen berries or fresh ones. I used frozen ones, because that’s what I had on hand. If you end up using fresh ones, you may not need the cornstarch mixture, as fresh berries have more active pectins than frozen ones.
• Lemons or Limes: Citrus will help to balance the flavor of the sweet, and adds a nice acidity to the compote.
• Sugar: Of course to add sweetness, you are welcome to leave it out if desired.
• Vanilla extract: For aroma, and flavor
• Cornstarch slurry: A cornstarch slurry is a mixture of cornstarch and water. This can help to thicken sauces, and jams. Because I used frozen fruit, it released more water, so I add cornstarch to thicken it.

How to make it:

1. Add all ingredients to a saucepan, except the cornstarch mixture.

2. Let mixture come to a boil over medium to high heat, stirring to prevent sticking. For frozen fruit this will take 7-10 minutes, for fresh fruit it will take 5 minutes.

3. Once boiled, reduce the heat to a simmer, and continue to stir. Allow the mixture to reduce in liquid. Once you have your preferred viscosity (how runny or thick you want the sauce to be), add cornstarch. If you used fresh fruit, you may not need to add cornstarch as the natural pectins have thickened the compote.

4. Remove from heat and let sit.  Sauce will thicken as it cools. Then serve.

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Mixed Berry Compote

This Mixed Berry Compote is juicy, sweet, and is a great topping on baked goods. My favorite way to eat this, is with my Fluffy, Vegan Spelt Pancakes. All you need to make this Mixed Berry Compote are 5 ingredients, and a saucepan.

Servings 6 people

Author Krystal George

Ingredients

• 2 cup frozen mixed berries
• 1 lemon or lime, squeezed (my co-worker gave me some beautiful meyer lemons from her tree. I promise its not an orange!)
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cornstarch + 1 tbsp of water (adjust to your preferred thickness)

Instructions

• Add all ingredients to a saucepan, except the cornstarch mixture.
• Let mixture come to a boil over medium to high heat, stirring to prevent sticking. For frozen fruit this will take 7-10 minutes, for fresh fruit it will take 5 minutes. 
• Once boiled, reduce the heat to a simmer, and continue to stir. Allow the mixture to reduce in liquid. Once you have your preferred viscosity (how runny or thick you want the sauce to be), add cornstarch. If you used fresh fruit, you may not need to add cornstarch as the natural pectins have thickened the compote.
• Remove from heat and let sit.  Sauce will thicken as it cools. Then serve.