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Dessert

Stewed Fruit

A baked fruit dish flavored with bicarbonate of soda.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 2 ingredients
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Stewed Fruit

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

  2. Place the fruit in a baking dish.

  3. Sprinkle the bicarbonate of soda over the fruit.

Bake and serve

  1. Bake in the oven until the fruit is soft.

  2. Serve warm, optionally with cream.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Fruit
Provides the main body, moisture and natural sweetness, softening into a stewed texture when baked.
Bicarbonate of soda
Raises the fruit's pH, which helps it soften faster in the oven.

The step that matters

Sprinkling the bicarbonate of soda. Bicarbonate of soda is alkaline, so too much can leave a soapy taste and darken the fruit's colour. Spreading a measured amount evenly over the fruit gives an even softening and avoids pockets of harsh flavour.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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