Kartli · 45 minutes · Vegan · Drink · For beginners
Alublis Kompoti
For 8 servings · US units
Georgian sour cherry drink, with optional vanilla – served warm or ice cold
Alublis Kompoti is the jug that sits on the table all summer in Kartli: a deep red cherry drink made from little more than sour cherries, water and sugar. It's an everyday thing straight from the fridge, but it holds its own at a supra just as well. The cherries stay in the glass – you eat them once the drink is gone.
Ingredients
- 1⅛ lbSour cherrieswashed and stemmed, pits may be left in
- 12⅔ cupswateras the cooking liquid
- 4⅔ ozsugaradjust sweetness after cooking
- 1vanillascrape out seeds, simmer along (optional)
Method
- Wash the sour cherries thoroughly and pull off the stems. The pits can stay in; if you'd rather not deal with them at the table, pit the fruit now.
- Put the cherries, sugar and water into a large pot. If you like, scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and stir them in.
- Bring everything to a boil, then turn the heat down.
- Let it simmer gently, uncovered, for 10 to 25 minutes, until the cherries burst and the liquid has turned deep red.
- Take the pot off the heat, taste, and stir in a little more sugar if you want it sweeter.
- Leave the drink to cool to room temperature in the pot.
- If you want it warm, serve it straight after cooking. For the cold version, pour it into a jug or glass jar and chill for several hours, ideally overnight.
- Spoon a few cherries into each glass and serve.
Tips and variations
Dark sweet cherries work in place of sour ones, and the vanilla can go in as a bean or as extract. If you prefer something thicker, thicken the liquid with cornstarch slaked in a little water and warm the cherries through in it at the very end – this also works with canned or thawed cherries. For a preserved version, caramelise the sugar, deglaze with vinegar and cherry nectar, let the cherries steep briefly, then pour the syrup with a splash of kirsch over the fruit into screw-top jars. Chilled, the drink keeps for about four to five days; after that it starts to ferment gently, turning fizzy and slightly alcoholic – at which point it's no longer one for the kids.
Allergens
Not every ingredient in this recipe has been checked, so nothing is promised as free from.
These notes follow from this recipe's ingredient list. Ready-made products and brands may contain further allergens — please check the packaging yourself.
Something not right?
This recipe was put together from independent sources and checked before publishing. Even so, a mistake can slip through — an amount that does not add up, a step that does not work as written. If you spot something, write to us: we will look into it and put it right.
