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Dessert

Greengages, Compote of

A compote of greengages simmered in a sugar syrup.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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Greengages, Compote of

Ingredients

Directions

Make the syrup

  1. Boil the sugar with water for 15 minutes, removing the scum as it rises.

Poach the greengages

  1. Add the greengages and simmer gently for another 15 minutes until tender but unbroken.

  2. Carefully lift the greengages out with a spoon and place them in a glass dish.

Serve

  1. Let the syrup cool slightly, then pour it over the greengages.

  2. Serve the compote cold.

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

Loaf sugar
Sweetens the syrup and gives the poaching liquid body.
Greengages
Provide the fruit, softening as they poach while keeping their shape.

The step that matters

Simmer the greengages gently for 15 minutes. Heat softens the fruit and breaks down its pectin and cell walls. A hard boil or extra time can make the greengages split and fall apart, so simmer gently and lift them out once tender but unbroken.

“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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