What is the difference between compote and fruit drink: the difference in preparation and taste

Many will be surprised how little they know about compotes and fruit drinks. In the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, compote is a dessert dish (not a drink!) of berries and fruits, boiled in water with sugar. Now about the difference between fruit juice and compote: it is never prepared from dried fruits, is not boiled, and always contains fresh berry or fruit juice. The difference between them is colossal.

How to distinguish fruit drink from compote?

Once you try both drinks, it won’t be difficult to distinguish one from the other. List of differences that first catch your eye:

fruit drink is richer, often with pulp;
the compote is transparent, contains whole berries or pieces of fruit;
The tastes of berries and fruits in fruit drinks are fresh, in compote they are cooked.

To better understand the difference between compote and fruit drink, let’s compare the products in the photo:

Comparison in the table:

	Morse	Compote
Made from	fresh and frozen fruits and berries; juice or puree with or without squeezing berries;	fresh and frozen fruits, berries, vegetables; dried fruits
Contains juice	yes, from 15 to 40%	No
Contains whole or cut fruits and berries	No	yes, no less than 15%
Consistency	liquid, maybe with pulp	transparent syrup with uncooked, elastic, but soft berries, fruits, vegetables
Taste	natural for fruits and berries; Slight natural bitterness and aftertaste of essential oils for citrus fruit drinks are allowed	characteristic of fruits and vegetables that have undergone heat treatment
Color	characteristic of berries and fruits from which it is made	not cloudy, the color of cooked fruits or vegetables
Popular types	cranberry; crimson; lingonberry; currant; wild berry mix	cherry; apple; fruit and berry mixes; from a mixture of dried fruits
Preparation	extraction	boiling in water with sugar
Application	for fresh consumption to quench thirst all year round; as an aid for colds and other diseases; ingredient for alcoholic cocktails	for fresh consumption in summer; canning for the winter

Morse - what is it?

Morses are non-carbonated soft drinks made from berry and fruit juices. They are traditional for Russian cuisine and have been prepared since time immemorial. Freshly picked cranberries, currants, and lingonberries were ground through a sieve, infused in a large container with water, and then filtered.

Wild berries for fruit drinks were collected after frost, when they became sweet. There was no sugar at that time. Honey could have been added to the drink. Mention in literature (I. Shmelev’s novel “The Summer of the Lord,” written in 1927-1948):

“He already had a craving for food - and it’s more likely that he was healthy - otherwise everything was disgusting to him: he only took sips of cranberry juice and sucked on a lemon, and swallowed two spoonfuls of almond jelly.”

How fruit juice is prepared these days (one of the options):

The raw materials are fresh or frozen berries and fruits.
The juice is separated from them by heating to 50-55 degrees. The mass should not boil over.
Then the raw materials are crushed to obtain pulp, and infused for at least 10 hours in clean water. The procedure is called extraction. When infused, the raw material saturates the water, releasing all the odors, tastes and nutrients.
The base for the fruit drink is carefully filtered and squeezed.
The resulting concentrate is diluted with clean water, already sweetened, and pasteurized at a temperature of 93-98 degrees.

What is compote?

In Russian, the word “kompot” appeared after the 18th century, and came from France. The story is quite confusing, considering that “compote” in the French is a fruit puree. Compotes in Rus' were more like uzvar. They consisted of fruits and berries boiled in sweetened water. They ate and drank the compote at the same time. The dessert was very popular and was prepared in every family.

Today compotes are called:

berries and fruits canned in sweet syrup;
a fruity refreshing drink brewed in water with sugar, from berries and fruits (fresh, dried, frozen).

The compote is cooked until the fruits soften, but so that they do not boil or fall apart. Cherries, plums, pears, apples, quinces, which are denser, are boiled for about 10 minutes after the water boils. More tender watermelons, bananas, citrus fruits, strawberries, grapes, raspberries and currants are placed in boiling water and the heat is immediately turned off. Before drinking, the drink is infused so that its taste, color and aroma become brighter.

Question answer

Which is healthier?

Fruit juice is considered healthier than compote. Due to minimal heat treatment, it retains more vitamins and nutrients. Fruit drinks are recommended as an adjuvant for the treatment of diseases. Cranberry juice relieves fever, tones, has an anti-inflammatory and restorative effect, lingonberry juice reduces blood sugar levels, improves appetite, currant juice strengthens blood vessels and overall health, cherry juice normalizes cholesterol levels and can be used to prevent intestinal infections.

How does compote differ from uzvar?

Long before the word “compote” appeared, uzvar was prepared in Rus'. This is a festive drink that was always served on Christmas Eve. Uzvar differs from compote by the mandatory content of dried fruits. Dried apples, pears, dried apricots should prevail in the list of ingredients. In addition, the drink is not boiled, but only brought to a boil and then infused.

The difference between fruit drink and compote is better felt when they are prepared at home according to classic recipes. Store-bought drinks may contain flavorings and preservatives that alter flavors and aromas. But even in this case, it is difficult to confuse the products. They are very unique, with their own characteristics!