Recipe: Strawberry Rhubarb Compote

For each month of the spring term, I will introduce a primary ingredient and illustrate its capabilities through a key dish. For May, the ingredient of the month is… sugar! Sugars come in various forms; however, this month will focus on crystallised refined sugar. These types of sugar are your typical white, brown and dark brown sugars. These sugars are perfect for drawing moisture out of foods, enhancing flavour. Additionally, sugars are also used as thickening agents, where the sugar acts as a “thickener” by breaking down into glucose and fructose. In other words, sugar is the go-to ingredient for when you need to enhance sweet flavours or caramelisation (i.e. the thickening process). 

For this month, a strawberry rhubarb compote is the perfect dish to illustrate these two characteristics. This compote captures the sugar’s ability to draw moisture and enhance the flavours of the fruits. The sugar is used to thicken the mixture into a compote consistency. With that, I hope you enjoy this recipe and learn a bit about how sugar performs!

Tools: 

Large mixing bowl 

Spatula or mixing spoon 

Large mason jar or airtight container 

Cooking pot

Ingredients: 

1⅓ cups of quartered or diced strawberries

1¾ cups of thinly sliced rhubarb 

¼ – ½ cup of sugar (optional: white, brown, etc.) 

2 tbsp of filtered water

2 tsp of vanilla extract 

A pinch of salt 

Instructions:

1. Thoroughly clean the strawberries and rhubarb and pat dry with a paper towel. 
2. Quarter or dice your strawberries depending on your preference for texture. Personally, I prefer quarters as they provide more texture. Then, thinly slice the rhubarb.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine the strawberries, rhubarb and sugar, and let the mixture sit for 20-30 minutes. During this time, the sugar will draw the moisture out of the fruits to produce more juice that will further thicken the mixture. 
4. At medium heat, cook the mixture for 15-20 minutes or until the strawberries and rhubarb have softened. Once softened, add the vanilla extract, water and salt.
5. Let the mixture completely cool and store the compote in a large mason jar or an airtight container.