Name: Compote of Dried Fruits (Взвар)
Yield: 4 to 6 Servings
Cuisine: Russia
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons brandy; ¾ cup honey; 3 ounces dried apricots; 2 whole allspice berries (or 1/8 teaspoon mixed spice); 3 ounces dried apple slices; ½ small lemon, sliced; 3 ounces dried pears; 3 cups boiling water; 1 stick cinnamon; 3 ounces dried peaches

Preparation info

4 to 6
Servings

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

A Taste of Russia

By Darra Goldstein

Published 1983

About

This compote of dried fruits is a specialty of southern Russia and Ukraine (where it is known as uzvar). In Ukrainian families, the compote is always served alongside kut’ya at the yearly Christmas dinner celebrating the breaking of the fast. Preparations for vzvar are begun months in advance, in late summer, when fresh fruits are gathered and hung to dry in large bunches in pantries, in storerooms or along the wattle fences of rural homesteads—a picturesque sight.