Name: Strawberry Compote
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 1/3 cup (2⅓ ounces) sugar; 1 tablespoon cornstarch; Pinch table salt; 1/4 cup water; 1 pound strawberries , hulled and halved or quartered if large (3¾ cups); 2 teaspoons lemon juice

Why This Recipe Works

Strawberry compote should be as simple as fruit, sugar, and not much else. For our version, we wanted clear strawberry flavor and a pleasantly chunky consistency. To get the jammy texture we sought, we opted for in-season fresh, firm, smaller berries. (Frozen berries work fine in many recipes, but not here; frozen berries lost their structural integrity and didn't deliver the chunky consistency we were after.) Cooking the berries too long left us with mush; adding liquid to the saucepan sped things up and kept the berries' structure intact. Water worked better than fruit juices, which obscured the strawberry flavor. To thicken the sauce, we combined a little cornstarch with the water and sugar before adding the berries and heating the mixture. The berries cooked within 5 minutes, softening without mushing out. The residual heat from the syrup mixture continued to gently cook the strawberries to the right texture after we transferred the compote to a bowl to cool. To help boost the fresh strawberry flavor and round out sweetness with tartness, we finished with a little lemon juice.

Before You Begin

Try to buy smaller berries; they have better flavor than larger ones. Quarter any berries larger than a Ping-Pong ball. It's important to pull the strawberries from the heat as soon as the mixture begins to bubble and thicken in order to not overcook them.

Instructions

Whisk sugar, cornstarch, and salt in medium saucepan until no lumps of cornstarch remain. Whisk in water. Stir in strawberries until evenly coated with sugar mixture.

Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until bubbles begin to form around edge of saucepan and mixture thickens, about 5 minutes.

Immediately transfer compote to bowl. Stir in lemon juice. (Mixture will be very thick but will thin as strawberries sit and continue to release their juice.) Let cool completely, about 30 minutes. Serve. (Compote can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)