Cranberry compote

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   For a tasty, healthful cranberry compote you only need three ingredients: the cranberries themselves, sugar, and water. You can adjust the proportions to taste, depending on how much compote you want and how concentrated you'd like it. Before you start, pick the cranberries over for twigs and leaves and rinse them well under running water to remove any dust. By the way, you can use either fresh or frozen berries.

2. Step 2:

   

   Pour the water into the pot you'll cook the compote in. I'm using an enameled pot — it's best not to use aluminum, so the berry juice doesn't react with it. Set the pot of water over the heat and bring it to a rolling boil.

3. Step 3:

   

   While the water heats, prep the berries. Put them in a deep bowl and crush them with a muddler or blitz them with an immersion blender. I drape a towel over the bowl at this point to keep the splashes from flying.

4. Step 4:

   

   When the water boils, add the sugar and stir until it dissolves completely.

5. Step 5:

   

   Then add the prepared cranberries to the pot and stir. Return the pot to the heat and bring the compote to a boil.

6. Step 6:

   

   Once the berries are in, don't let the compote keep boiling — take it off the heat right away. Why not let it boil? Prolonged boiling destroys all the cranberries' beneficial properties, and we don't want that. So bring it just to a boil and pull it off the heat. Cover the pot and let it sit until it cools.

7. Step 7:

   

   Strain the cooled compote and pour it into a pitcher. Pour it into glasses and enjoy. On a hot day you can add a little crushed ice to the glass. Enjoy!