Peach Compote 'on Sugar'

 Ingredients: 1,500 kg peaches, 1 large cup of tea full of sugar, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, a few cloves, vanillin (vanilla powder) as much as you can take between two fingers, 3 tablespoons of raisins (the light-colored ones), rum enough to cover the raisins placed in a cup, a little lemon juice, a lot of sugar, extra to what is provided above.

Choose peaches that are slightly green, but not too green, meaning they should be firm, to obtain a compote with a pleasant texture. We start by preparing the raisins, placing them in a cup and covering them with rum, preferably, but Chardonnay wine can also be used. We let the raisins soak for about an hour, during which they will plump up and become aromatic. In another container, we prepare the sugar mixture with cinnamon and cloves, using a fork to mix the ingredients well until we obtain a homogeneous composition. This mixture will add a special fragrance to our compote.

In a large pot, we bring water to a boil. When the water starts to boil, we add the peaches and let them sit for exactly two minutes, being very careful not to exceed this time, otherwise we risk them becoming too soft. After the two minutes, we quickly remove the peaches with a slotted spoon or a sieve and transfer them to another vessel with cold water, into which we also add some ice cubes, to stop the cooking process. This is an effective method to easily remove the peach skin. If you prefer, you can choose to peel the peaches with a knife.

Once the peaches are peeled, we slice them, removing the pit. We place them in a large bowl and sprinkle them with lemon juice to prevent oxidation. Then, we add the soaked raisins along with the rum and mix the ingredients well. We prepare clean jars, in which we arrange the peach slices. We add a tablespoon of the sugar mixture with cinnamon and cloves to each jar, ensuring that each portion benefits from the same delicious aroma.

After we finish filling the jars with peaches and sugar, we gently shake them to allow the sugar to settle evenly at the bottom. Then, we fill the jars with the remaining sugar, completely covering them. It is important to seal the jars properly, after which we wrap them in a clean cloth and place them in a large pot. At the bottom of the pot, we place another piece of cloth or a towel, to prevent the jars from breaking during boiling.

We fill the pot with water, leaving a finger's width below the lids of the jars. It is essential that the pot in which we boil the jars is taller, as the water tends to splash during boiling. We must continuously monitor the water level, adding hot water when necessary, to maintain a constant level.

We let the jars boil for about an hour and a half. If we notice that the sugar has completely melted earlier, we can turn off the heat. After boiling, we leave the jars in the water until the next day, to cool gradually. Once everything has cooled, we remove the jars from the water, wipe them well, label them, and arrange them in the pantry.

Over the years, I have tried to reproduce the taste of my grandmother's compotes, but I have rarely succeeded. Recently, I had the opportunity to pick peaches and decided to make a compote, thinking of childhood memories. I remembered the old recipe from Radu Anton Roman's books and, reading it, I realized it is similar to the one used by my grandmother. So, I decided to fulfill my desire to taste that sweet compote, with the unmistakable aroma from the past, which always brings smiles to our faces on cold winter days.

 Tags:  sugar fruits lemon gluten-free recipes lactose-free recipes vegetarian recipes fat-free recipes