Crab Apple Pear Compote
Pour this hot Crab Apple Pear Compote onto your next bowl of ice cream. This hot fruit dessert dish surprisingly has just the right amount of spice and sweetness. The crab apples are dimmed on their sour tartness by the sugar and pears. Very nice combo together.
I find this to be the perfect after dinner dessert and complements a cold night by the fire. It can be dressed up in so many ways. Just eat it hot by it self or top with a wide array of toppings. My favorite is chopped walnuts toasted in vegan butter and crowned with coconut whip cream. Sometimes a little hot caramel or coconut bourbon sauce is just the trick.
Throw it on some of your favorite vanilla, praline, rum raisin or walnut ice cream. There are so many to pick from now. I really love the oat milk vanilla ice cream. You can not tell that it is oat milk at all. A real gem of a find for sure. This Crab Apple Pear Compote is truly amazing on top of my heated Walnut Maple Oat Quinoa Biscuits. Try them out! You definitely will not be disappointed. You may want to try this compote on pancakes or a baked sweet potato. I’m sure you will find many ways to enjoy this compote.
Making Crab Apple Pear Compote
Making Crab Apple Pear Compote is truly a small labor of love, but you will be very rewarded in the end. For this recipe you will need a very sharp paring knife because these little apples are a little tough. I like slicing wedges of the crab apples, it just looks prettier than chunks. I like to use at least 3 cups of crab apples because they melt down a bit when cooking. It leaves just the right amount of semi-tartness to the compote.
Canned pears are not recommended because it is just too sweet and mushy. I found out the hard way. It was awful! Fresh pears are the only way to go. I use D’Anjou pears. I like these because they are a little firm after they start to ripen. They really keep their shape when cooking and retain their sweetness.
This Crab Apple Pear Compote does not need a lot of sugar. Very surprising! I only use a half cup of unpacked brown sugar because it is way too sweet if you pack it. I would use coconut sugar but it does not melt down very well. Agave and maple syrup are just too runny. Although, you can just add more corn starch. I am sure if you do not like brown sugar you will find what works best for you.
Picking Crab Apples for Crab Apple Pear Compote
Picking crab apples can be a task. There are so many different types of species of crab apple trees. If your crab apples are small it will be hard to make anything with them besides wine and crab apple jelly. It is just way too much labor. If your crab apples are an inch and a half to two inches wide than my crab apple recipes are for you. My tree grows so many crab apples at just the right size to manage creative recipes.
The best crab apples for cooking are after a frost has come through your area. This helps the crab apples be a little sweeter and less tart. Don’t wait too long for too many frost because the crab apples start to split and rot. If the seeds are dark inside and not pink than they are ripe and have stopped growing. Always look for brown spots on your crab apples. You don’t want to use those.
I love my crab apple tree. It has really produced an abundance of crab apples this year. I hope to utilize all this bounty next year with even more recipes. I hope you enjoy my Crab Apple Pear Compote as much as we do. Check out my other recipe of Spiced Crab Apples.
Crab Apple Pear Compote
Equipment
- Cutting board
- sharp paring knife
- medium cooking pot
- Large stirring spoon
Ingredients
- 3 cups Crab Apples sliced
- 2 Lg Ripe D'Anjou Pears or your favorite pears
- ⅓ cup Raisins
- ½ cup Water
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- ¾ tsp Cinnamon
- 3 dashes Nutmeg
- 2 dashes Ground Cloves
- ¼ tsp Sea Salt
Thickener
- ¼ cup Cold Water
- 1 Tbsp Corn Starch
Instructions
- Clean all of the fruit. Core and slice the crab apples and pears. Keep the skins on the crab apples and pears.
- In a medium sauce pan add the crab apples, pears, raisins, ½ cup water, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves and sea salt. Mix all together and simmer on medium low for 15 to 20 minutes or until the fruit is soft.
- After the fruit has cooked down turn it down to low heat. Mix together in a cup the ¼ cup of cold water and the corn starch until its dissolved in the cold water.
- Add the watered down corn starch mixture to the cooked fruit compote. Stir together until thicker in consistency. If it is too thick just add a little more water.
- Ready to serve. Makes 4 servings.