Compote of Dried Fruits

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.