Excellent tastes with a characteristic aroma and flavor of strawberries, a harmonious balance of acid and sweetness, as well as a durable skin make it possible to use Isabella berries both for fresh consumption and for the preparation of wine or other home-made preparations - juices, jams or compotes. How to close compote from this grape for the winter is described in this review.

The benefits and harms of compote from Isabella grapes

Fruit compotes are very healthy drinks, because, in addition to water, they contain a large amount of vitamins and other nutrients that make up the fruits from which they are prepared.

Important! The most useful and rare substances contained in black grapes are the natural pigment resveratrol and the natural flavoring pterostilbene. Both of these compounds, as established by American scientists, are the most powerful immunostimulants, antioxidants and antitumor agents of all created by nature.

Some of these nutrients are destroyed during the heat treatment, but most of them still manage to be preserved.

• Due to the presence of such components, grape compote has the following useful properties:
• enhances mental activity;
• strengthens the immune system;
• relieves fatigue;
• helps to eliminate harmful substances from the body;
• exhibits antimicrobial and antifungal activity;
• improves the digestive tract, has a mild laxative effect;
• stimulates the kidneys and liver, has a diuretic effect;
• It has a tonic effect, increases blood pressure;
• promotes hematopoiesis, increases the level of hemoglobin and red blood cells in the blood;
• prevents thrombosis, reduces the risk of heart attacks and strokes;
• improves the respiratory system;
• possesses antioxidant, anti-aging, regenerating effect;
• binds free radicals (antioxidant);
• improves mood;
• helps restore hormonal balance, enhances sexual function.

And yet, unlike ordinary purified water, grape compote in unlimited quantities should not be consumed. The reason is not only that due to the high sugar content such a product is even more high-calorie than the grapes themselves (if 100 g of berries contain about 72 kcal, then there are about 77 in the compote).

Also find out what else you can make from Isabella grapes other than wine.

There are certain conditions in which grape compote can be harmful.

So, with great care, such a drink should be included in your diet for those who:

• suffers from gastritis, as well as gastric or duodenal ulcers with increased acidity of gastric juice;
• have a history of hypertension or hypotension (in either case, the reaction to a sweet drink may be unpredictable);
• takes laxatives;
• sick with diabetes mellitus (grapes, after consultation with a doctor, in this condition you can use, but not in the form of compote);
• has problems with the work of the urinary and endocrine systems, as well as with the liver, especially when the final diagnosis has not yet been made;
• suffers from toothache, has untreated caries or generally poor teeth condition (both sugar and acid are extremely undesirable in this case).

During pregnancy, grape compote can be consumed, but in moderation, since a high content of “fast” carbohydrates in the diet can lead to weight gain, which is dangerous for both the expectant mother and the baby.

Basic principles of cooking

Isabella compote can be prepared in different ways, however, no matter which recipe is chosen, there are several fundamental rules that you must adhere to during the work:

1. For preservation, it is necessary to use only fully ripened, but in no case rotten berries. The taste and useful properties of the finished product directly depend on the quality of the raw materials, so all cracked, affected by fungus or pests, dried and not formed fruits in the process of preparing the grapes for preservation should be removed.
2. The amount of vitamins and other nutrients in the compote is inversely proportional to the time that has passed from the time of harvest to the preparation of the product. For this reason, it is advisable to close the compote on the same day that the grapes were removed from the bush.
3. Before proceeding to the preparation of compote, it is necessary to prepare the container. For this type of blank, cans of large volume are best suited - 2 or 3 liters. Glass must be thoroughly washed and sterilized with boiling water or steam. Tin or self-tightening lids are boiled in a small amount of water and removed from it immediately before closing the can.
4. After capping, the container should be turned upside down, covered with a terry towel or blanket and left to cool at room temperature in a place protected from draft.
5. Grape berries will retain their integrity if they are blanched in boiling water for several minutes before cooking and then immediately immersed in very cold water (to reduce the temperature, it is advisable to add a few ice cubes).
6. Sugar in compote plays the role of not only a flavor enhancer, but also a preservative. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce its quantity compared with that indicated in the recipe with great care: in this case, the terms and conditions of storage of compote must be seriously adjusted. On the other hand, an increased sugar content sharply reduces the useful qualities of the finished product, so you should not abuse such an ingredient either.
7. Grape berries for compote are usually removed from bunches. However, many housewives cook them along with twigs. In this case, the finished product acquires a spicy bitterness, in which some find a special charm.
8. The optimal ratio of berries and syrup in compote is considered to be 1: 3 .
9. In Isabella grapes, sugar content is not very high, so the classic recipe does not involve adding citric acid to the compote . However, a sweet and sour apple can significantly enrich the taste of the finished product.
10. In addition to the apple, you can add other seasonal fruits to the grape compote, such as pears or plums. In addition, you can diversify the drink with the help of herbs and other spices - cinnamon, cloves, anise, star anise, tarragon, etc.

Grape compote can be used as the basis for the preparation of other drinks and desserts. For example, if you add boiled starch to the workpiece and boil it again, you will get a very tasty and nutritious jelly, and if you heat the compote, mix it with gelatin dissolved in water, pour into molds and cool, it’s a wonderful jelly.

How to cook compote from Isabella grapes for the winter

Isabella is a very good grade for making compotes. Due to the rich ruby ​​color of the berry and the presence of tangible astringency in it, the drink from such grapes turns out to be beautiful, aromatic, and very bright in taste.

It will also be useful for you to learn how to make Isabella grape jam.

There are many recipes for preparing such a workpiece. Below are five options, from classic to more original and unusual.

In all recipes, the amount of ingredients is calculated on a 3-liter jar of finished product.

Recipe number 1

Classic recipe

Learning to harvest grape compote is best to start with the classics. Having understood the technology, you can further complement and change the recipe, focusing on your own taste preferences.

Ingredient Steps 3

• Enumerated Isabella Grapes

  0.5 kg

• water

  2.2 l

• granulated sugar

  360 g

1. Rinse the berries removed from the branches well under running water.
2. Putting the grapes in a sieve, dip it together with berries in boiling water.
3. After letting the boiling water drain a little, lower the sieve with grapes into a container filled with cold water, into which ice cubes are added. Drain the water.
4. Prepare syrup from water and sugar, mixing them and bringing to a boil.
5. After waiting for the chilled grapes to warm to room temperature, put the berries in a pre-sterilized jar. It should fill approximately 1/3 of the volume.
6. Pour the grapes with hot syrup, cover.
7. After 30 minutes, pour the syrup into the same pan where it was boiled, and bring it to a boil again.
8. Re-pour the syrup into the jar, cover it with a tin lid and roll it up.

Did you know? The word "compote" is of French origin, but in Russia this drink has been known for almost three hundred years. Our ancestors called it “uzvar” or “boil” and used it as a festive meal on Christmas, and to make it more satisfying, in addition to fruits, berries and herbs, they added ... cereals (Christmas kutia, which has survived to this day, is and there is compote with millet or rice).

Recipe number 2

Whole clusters

The convenience of this recipe is that there is no need to remove the grapes from the branches, which saves some time for the preparation of the product, especially when it comes to large volumes. However, every brush and even every berry hanging on it must be carefully examined and all “defective” (rotten, cracked, damaged, dried, immature, etc.) fruits must be removed.

Ingredient Steps 3

• Isabella grapes in clusters

  1 kg

• water

  1, 5 l

• granulated sugar

  350 g

1. Wash the grapes and inspect the berries.
2. Blanch the bunches by placing them in a sieve and lowering them for a few seconds in boiling water.
3. Cool the berries in ice water.
4. Mix water and sugar, bring to a boil, remove the resulting foam, simmer for 2–3 minutes on low heat.
5. Fill a sterile container with grapes. Brushes should occupy almost the entire volume of the can.
6. Pour the slightly cooled syrup into the jar.
7. Place a dishcloth, piece of soft cloth or several layers of gauze on the bottom of a deep pan (the container should allow you to place a 3 liter jar inside and cover the pan with a lid so that the glass and the lid do not come into contact). Put a jar on the cloth, and then fill the pan with water to ¾ the height of the container with compote.
8. Put the pan on the fire, cover, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and sterilize the compote on low heat for 30 minutes.
9. Remove the jar from the pan, cover with a sterile lid, roll it with a key.

Recipe number 3

With sourness

Isabella grapes contain approximately 17.6% sugar and 27.4% acid. According to the latest indicator, Isabella is one of the leaders among the most famous universal varieties. Nevertheless, there are people who consider the classic compote of this grape too sweet.

Did you know? It turns out that human taste buds react to acidic much more strongly than to sweet: we are able to feel “sourness” at a concentration of 1: 130, 000, while we only feel sweetness at a ratio of 1: 200. It is acid that causes a person to profuse salivation, which, by the way, is the best method of getting rid of bad breath.

To balance the taste of the product, in such cases, citric acid is added to the recipe, which, by the way, simultaneously serves as an additional preservative - natural and harmless. Thanks to this ingredient, grapes in this recipe can not be subjected to preliminary blanching.

Steps 4 Ingredients

• Isabella grapes in clusters

  0.5 kg

• water

  2 l

• granulated sugar

  0.5 kg

• lemon acid

  5 g

1. Wash and sort out the grapes, removing the fruits unsuitable for conservation.
2. Prepare syrup from sugar and water, boil it in a saucepan.
3. Put the bunch in a sterile jar (it will fill up to about half).
4. Pour the grapes with hot syrup, cover.
5. After 5 minutes, drain the liquid from the can into the same saucepan and bring to a boil again.
6. Pour acid in a jar, directly on top of the berries.
7. Pour syrup into a jar, cover with a sterile lid, roll up.

Recipe number 4

No sterilization

For additional sterilization of cans with a capacity of 3 l (as is the case with whole clusters), it is necessary to have a very high and voluminous pan, which not every housewife has at their disposal.

Important! The simplified method of making compote according to this recipe has its price: you need to store the finished product at a temperature not exceeding + 5 ° С ... + 7 ° С, that is, in the cellar or in the refrigerator.

On the other hand, smaller containers are not suitable for compote, since working with it requires a lot of effort, and a sweet drink is drunk quite quickly.

Therefore, it is not surprising that those recipes for grape compote that do not require sterilization have the greatest value and popularity. Two of them have already been described, another option is proposed below. In its manufacture, lemon is used, which, like citric acid, is a good preservative, so that the compote can be stored for a long time without additional heat treatment.

Lemon in this recipe can be replaced with lime, or, if desired, with berries of viburnum or cranberries - both fresh and frozen.

Steps 5 Ingredients

• Isabella grapes with sprigs

  300 g

• water

  2, 3 l

• granulated sugar

  100 g

• lemon

  2-3 slices

• mint or lemon balm

  several branches

1. Wash the grapes and sort the berries. Allow water to drain completely.
2. Make syrup.
3. Put grapes, mint and citrus in a dry sterilized jar.
4. Pour the fruits with boiling syrup and immediately roll.

Recipe number 5

With apples

Apples are a great addition to grapes when cooking compotes. In addition to a well-combined taste, these crops ripen at about the same time, which makes their sharing especially convenient. Absolutely any kind of apple can be added to grapes - sour, sweet, sour-sweet.

In the recipe below, they are used in their entirety, so it is advisable to pick up small fruits, however, if desired, you can cut them into slices, removing the core and seeds.

Important! When using sweet and sweet and sour apples, the initial amount of sugar can be reduced by 10–20%.

Steps 4 Ingredients

• Isabella grapes with sprigs

  500 g

• apples

  500 g

• water

  2 l

• granulated sugar

  400 g

1. Wash grapes and apples thoroughly.
2. Make sure that the apples do not have external damage (traces of rot, scratches, dark spots, wormholes, etc.). If any, replace the fruit.
3. Grapes, without removing from twigs, get rid of defective berries.
4. Cook syrup from water and sugar.
5. Put dried grape brushes and fruits in a pre-sterilized jar.
6. Pour the container to the top with hot syrup.
7. Place the jar in a large pot with the bottom covered with cloth, add water up to ¾ the height of the jar, cover, put on fire.
8. When the water boils, reduce the heat and leave to sterilize for 30 minutes.
9. Carefully remove the jar from the pan, cover with a sterile lid, roll up.

Features and storage rules for compote

With strict observance of the technology, compote from Isabella grapes can be stored for a long time, observing the following rules:

• maximum storage temperature should not exceed + 20 ° C (some recipes involving minimal heat treatment or a small amount of sugar require storage of the resulting product at lower temperatures);
• for blanks, you should choose a place that is most protected from drafts, temperature extremes (both seasonal and daily) and, if possible, darkened;
• before removing the compote to a place of permanent storage, it is necessary to hold the blank for 2–3 weeks in sight - only making sure that after the specified time the lid is still deeply drawn in and the liquid inside the jar does not become cloudy, we can assume that the preservation process was successful;
• even if the above conditions are met, before using the compote, you need to make sure that it is not fermented or sour (contrary to the existing misconception, it is impossible to use such products for making wine or moonshine, repeated boiling will also not correct the situation).

Did you know? The statement that compote made from grapes with pits can be stored for no more than 12 months because of the danger of sending hydrocyanic acid has no scientific justification. The grape seeds actually contain a small amount of hydrogen cyanide - moreover, when it is heated, it does not decompose, but passes into a liquid, that is, into compote - however, the sugar present in the product is a natural neutralizer of this poison.

Stewed fruit of Isabella grapes that does not have signs of fermentation or souring (foam, sediment, turbidity, unpleasant smell or taste, etc.) can be used as food even three years after preservation, but it is better to use all homemade preparations before the next harvest. In this case, the risk of poisoning is minimal, and the amount of nutrients in the product is, on the contrary, the highest.

Useful Tips

To make the homemade harvesting even more tasty and to be stored at least until the next harvest, the housewives can take advantage of these additional recommendations:

1. Instead of granulated sugar and water, you can use the so-called invert sugar (it is also called artificial honey). This will increase the shelf life of the finished product. To prepare invert sugar, it is necessary to mix granulated sugar and water in a ratio of 2: 1, bring the resulting syrup to a boil, carefully remove the resulting foam, and then very carefully add citric acid to it at the rate of ½ tsp. 1 liter of water and, reducing the fire, simmer another 60 minutes. При дальнейшем использовании инвертного сахара для приготовления варенья следует исходить из того, что 1 л сиропа соответствует 1 кг сахара-песка.
2. В процессе приготовления виноградного компота приходится сливать сироп из ёмкости, в котором находятся ягоды. Чтобы не нарушить стерильности, не обжечься и не вылить плоды вместе с сиропом, стоит приобрести специальную полиэтиленовую сливную крышку, в которой имеется удобный носик и несколько отверстий. Эти крышки легко можно найти в интернет-магазинах, и стоят они совсем не дорого. Надев такую крышку на банку, можно легко слить из неё всю жидкость, при этом ягоды останутся внутри.
3. Проще всего простерилизовать 3-литровую банку в микроволновой печи. Для этого банку нужно хорошо вымыть с использованием соды, налить в неё немного воды и уложить в печь горизонтально. Далее остаётся лишь выбрать режим максимальной мощности и установить время — 4 минуты.
4. Точное соотношение плодов и сиропа для заполнения ёмкости заданного объёма рассчитать очень сложно, однако банку всегда следует заполнять жидкостью по самое горлышко. Чтобы решить эту проблему, хозяйке надо ставить на отдельную горелку небольшую кастрюльку с водой, которая должна кипеть в момент заполнения банок сиропом перед окончательной закаткой. Если сиропа не хватило, недостающий объём можно без опасений заполнить крутым кипятком.
5. При наличии большого количества винограда готовить компоты по рецептам, предусматривающим частичное заполнение стеклянной тары ягодами, не очень рационально. В таких случаях есть смысл снимать плоды с веточек и наполнять ими банки доверху, корректируя при этом объём необходимого сиропа. Открыв банку зимой, можно будет слить жидкость и разбавить её кипячёной водой.
6. Треснувшие или переспевшие ягоды, отбракованные в процессе приготовления компота, могут послужить сырьём для приготовления джема или домашнего вина, однако сухие, подгнившие или прихваченные плесенью плоды использовать нельзя.
7. Виноградные грозди лучше мыть не под проточной водой, а осторожно опуская их в наполненное водой ведро, таз или другую большую ёмкость. Так уменьшается вероятность случайного нарушения целостности отдельных ягод.
8. Готовя компот из цельных гроздей винограда, наиболее толстые веточки всё же следует убирать. Лучше всего разделить гроздь на несколько фрагментов по 5–7 ягод. Слишком большой массив веток добавит конечному продукту излишнюю горечь, сделает его употребление более неудобным и, кроме того, займёт дополнительный объём в банке, который лучше было бы использовать для съедобной части — ягод или сиропа.

Компот из винограда Изабелла отличается насыщенным рубиновым цветом, богатым ароматом и терпким приятным вкусом. Такой способ заготовки, кроме того, позволяет очень неплохо сохранить огромное количество питательных веществ, содержащихся в ягодах. Готовится компот совсем не сложно, при этом в огромном разнообразии рецептов каждая хозяйка может найти тот, который покажется ей наиболее удачным.