Russian Cherry Kompot Juice

6/7/2021

I found this lovely mid-century tea tray that comes from the USSR. Dating back to the 1970's, and painted with vibrant-colored flowers, this toile tray inspired me to make a traditional Russian tea / beverage. Since it is summer, I decided to try something cooling, rather than a warm Russian tea.

Russian Kompot is a fruit-based juice that has many variations and can be served hot or cold depending on the season. The traditional method uses cherries, but many variations use fresh or dried fruits like apples, berries or apricots.

For the summer, you can use any seasonal berry or fruit, and serve it up cold, or over ice. Many recipes use a large amount of sugar, but I drastically reduced the sugar to make this a healthier and sweeter treat.

During the holiday season, kompot makes an excellent warm, seasoned hot beverage. It's a fun recipe to experiment during every season of the year!

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Russian Cherry Kompot Juice
Make Time: 30 minutes
Makes approximately 4 cups

Ingredients:
4 cups water
1 lb or 1 heaping cup cherries, pitted
2 tbsp sugar

Directions:
Begin by putting the cherries. Without a cherry pitter, I remove the stems and hold the cherry in my left hand, bottom on a cutting board. I take a hard plastic straw and push the straw from the top to the bottom of the cherry. Slightly, slide the cherry up the straw to get the pit out of the fruit.

In a pot, combine the water and sugar and bring to a simmer. Once the sugar dissolves after one minute, add the cherries. Simmer on low heat for 10-15 minutes. Once the cherries lose color, remove from heat and let the juice cool completely.

I find it is best enjoyed 12-24 hours after cooling. Immediately drinking the juice will have a more sugary flavor. The cherry flavor really kicks in once the juice cools entirely. The traditional version leaves the cherries in the liquid, but you can also remove it if you'd like. Enjoy cold!

Let's Connect! Enjoy my other cherry recipes below!