Compotes

Compotes are fruits preserved in very little sugar, and made as needed in the household. The fruits are always blanched, and a little sugar is added for them to absorb, and then they are put into dishes, and the syrup is poured over them. The Creoles often cut the fruits into many pretty shapes, especially the Apples and Peaches. It is always better to blanch the fruits in thinned syrup than in water. To preserve the whiteness of the peeled fruits, they should be peeled as rapidly as possible, and put into the saucepan with the water or syrups, and blanched only long enough to soften, and then arranged in the dish, and covered with the syrup. If the fruits are not ripe, they ought to be put into syrup over the fire to cook a little.