Canned Feijoa Compote for Winter

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   To make feijoa compote for the winter, all you need is sugar, water, and the feijoas themselves.

2. Step 2:

   

   First, sterilize the lids. You can simply pour boiling water over them, but I sterilize the lids and jars at the same time. Lay the lids in the bottom of a large pot and cover with water.

3. Step 3:

   

   Set a canning ring (steaming rack) on top of the pot and boil the jars along with the lids for 10 minutes. Sterilizing the jars isn't strictly necessary — washing them well with baking soda is enough, and the compote will keep for more than one winter — but I still prefer to sterilize.

4. Step 4:

   

   Rinse the feijoas well under running water and trim off the stem ends.

5. Step 5:

   

   There's an Abkhazian rule of thumb: for a 3-quart (3 L) jar, use exactly 25 feijoas and 1.5–2 cups of sugar. Feijoa has a very intense flavor, so you don't need many per jar. Since I packed mine in 1-quart (1 L) jars this year, I used 8 per jar. For large 3-quart jars you can leave the feijoas whole; for quart jars it's better to halve them.

6. Step 6:

   

   Add about 140 g (a generous 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp) of sugar to each jar.

7. Step 7:

   

   Fill the jars with vigorously boiling water and seal them immediately.

8. Step 8:

   

   Turn the sealed jars over a few times until all the sugar has dissolved.

9. Step 9:

   

   Wrap the jars in a towel or blanket and leave them until completely cool, then move them to a cool, dark spot to store. After about a month the compote will be infused and ready to drink. Feijoa compote keeps for up to two years at temperatures up to 77°F (25°C).