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Kompot is a fruit juice made by nearly every Russian and Ukrainian family. There are a gazillion ways to make it. It all depends on the fruit you have on hand. Your kompot will surely taste different than mine (I am very curious how you make your favorite homemade juice).
Don’t be afraid to experiment with various berries and fruit. It can be made with fresh or even dry fruit (in winter). Once our plums are ripe, we’ll be making plumb kompot by the gallon. If you want to do something with the fruit after you’ve strained off most of the juice, just turn it into Kissel; a classic fruit soup we Slavic people love. See instructions below.
Ingredients for Kompot :
(again, fruit can vary tremendously and it will still be good)
15 apricots (or 6 cups of pitted)
4 cups of cherries
2 cups of blueberries
1 gal of water
3/4 cup of sugar or to taste
Additional Ingredients for Kissel:
(if you decide to make it with the leftover fruit)
3 Tbsp potato starch (corn starch does not work)
1/4 cup cold water
How to make homemade fruit juice (kompot):
1. Bring 1 gal of water to a boil.
2. Wash all the fruit. Cut apricots in half and remove the pits. Pit the cherries. If you are a cherry lover and do not have a pitter, you should consider investing in one. It would be torture otherwise.
The OXO Good Grips Cherry Pitter
3. When the water starts to boil, carefully add fruit and bring water back to a boil. Switch heat to medium and let the mixture boil for 30 min uncovered.
4. When time is up, remove from heat and stir in 3/4 cup of sugar or to taste.
5. Let kompot cool completely, strain off the juice and refrigerate. Serve chilled. Who would have thought it was THAT easy?!
On Making Kissel:
If you want to do something with that leftover fruit, leave some of the juice in the pot with the fruit and add 2 cups water. In a small bowl, Mix 3 Tbsp potato starch with 1/4 cup cold water. Bring the fruit to a light boil and add the potato starch mix. You can add more potato starch and water depending on how thick you like your fruit soup. Serve Kissel warm or cold.
Homemade Juice (Kompot)
Ingredients
- 15 apricots, or 6 cups of pitted
- 4 cups of cherries
- 2 cups of blueberries
- 1 gal of water
- 3/4 cup of sugar or to taste
Instructions
- Bring 1 gal of water to a boil.
- Wash all the fruit. Cut apricots in half and remove the pits. Pit the cherries.
- When the water starts to boil, carefully add fruit and bring water back to a boil.
- Switch heat to medium and let the mixture boil for 30 min uncovered.
- When time is up, remove from heat and stir in 3/4 cup of sugar or to taste.
- Let kompot cool completely, strain off the juice and refrigerate. Serve chilled.
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
When using other fruit, how much do I need in either weight or volume? Also, how does the amount of dried fruit compare to fresh (like using dried vs fresh seasonings)?
Hi Rosalie, it really depends on the fruit that you are using – there isn’t a set amount. My mother never measured the fruit, she just added it. If you make it more concentrated, you can just add water to taste. Also I haven’t tried this with dried fruit but one of our readers wrote in with the following helpful comment: “I quite liked it with the dried fruit and still make it that way…usually raisins, dried cherries and prunes, along with a cinnamon stick and some honey. We leave the fruit in and eat it off the bottom.”
absolutely delicious. I have been wanting to make for a while and finally spied fresh apricots at the farmers market. I was trying to recreate the kompot I had at a Ukrainian resto in Brighton Beach years ago and wasn’t sure it wld be as delicious since there are so many possible variations. This recipe is v close and I cannot stop drinking it..SO GOOD. Thank you. Ps I didn’t have a cherry pitter so I used a star shaped pastry tip as a hack and the pitting went pretty fast. 🙏🙏
Hello Eden, lovely to hear from you and thank you for your wonderful comments and review. We’re happy to now that you loved it!
This may sounds like a stupid question but can this be done with bananas?
Also does the water amount matter so much when you are boiling the fruits? Can you make up the rest of the water once it is done or does this somehow change the flavours?
Hi Sìan, I haven’t tested this with banana to advise on the outcome. The amount of water maters since the boiling fruit infuses the water. I hope this helps!
So, I’m disappointed that my Russian friends never told me such a magical potion existed. I’m making my 2nd batch in 2 days! Right now I’m using an apple, some frozen cherries and blueberries, and the rest of some dried cranberries that had been sitting in the pantry for forever. Kompot-making will be happening more often in my household!
I’m so happy you loved this Kompot recipe. It’s such a treat especially when stone fruit is in season.
hah hah ,who knew you can boil fruit?Russians boil everything.
What do you strain the finished juice through? Mine did not turn out as clear as what you have pictured.
Hi Doug, our favorite strainers for recipes like this can be found on our Amazon Affiliate Shop HERE.
Thank you! The Kompot was fantastic!!! Thank you for the method!!! I’m making the Kissel right now.
You’re welcome, Doug! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Haven’t tried mine yet, but the smell is excellent after I added some of my own spices. I did not pit the cherries, some recipes said this was not necessary. Do you disagree?
Hi Bogdan, you don’t have to pit cherries for kompot since you will be removing them anyway.
Nice easy recipe to make with the little grandchildren.
So true, it will be a good bonding experience with them!
I lived in Ukraine, and have had Kompot many times. I have even made it fresh. My question though is, How do you can it to store it for later?
Hi Tim, we keep it in the fridge for a few days. I hope that helps. I haven’t tested with freezing that but it may be an option.
This juice recipe is really amazing. Thanks for sharing such an awesome blog.
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it.
Wow! amazing post. Thanks for sharing such an awesome post.
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for that great review!
Wow! great recipe. Thanks for sharing such an awesome recipe.
Thank you for sharing that awesome feedback with us.
Can I make this with frozen fruit?
Hi Ksenia! Frozen will work great!
I make mine with pears and blackberries
Sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing!
I love juice,it makes me feel like eating fresh fruits,also no sugar added juice brands which is more heathier! I jus had one amazing natural juice brands House of Chi which is jus amazing….you can also check this. https://www.houseofchi.com/
Thank you for sharing that with us, Madision!
Hi Natasha,
I made a lot of extra kompot
How long is it good for in my refrigerator?
A month?
Ours usually doesn’t last that long since we drink it up pretty quick. But I imagine at least a week. 🙂
Yummy recipie! I had left over fruit and remember how my mom would make kompot so the fruit doesn’t go to waste! I forgot how portion and cooking time but I knew I can find it on your website! And sure enough 😉 thank you so much Natasha! I use your website almost everyday! God bless you and your family! Also, you should publish a cookbook! I am your first customer!;) please!
That’s awesome that you thought of my blog and found what you were looking to make :). Thanks for the encouragement to write a book. It really means alot to me! 🙂
I have a very fruitful plum tree that I need to figure out what to do with all those plums! If you don’t mind, I’d like to know how you make your kompot with plums. We bought a house that has about 17 mature fruit trees, so I need to experiment with different combinations and these comments are giving me ideas but not many with plums. Thank you 🙂
You would make it the same way, cooking the fruit with the same method and replacing it in equal proportions. You can even make all plum juice without any other fruit if you wanted to. I love that plum juice is really dark and rich in color and flavor.
Hi Natasha –
What berries i can use write know, like something cranberries. . . need your help, and also sugar ration. . .
Thanks a lot
Hi Natalie, I think a cranberry kompot would work but you will need more sugar. Without testing it, I can’t give you exact measurements. I’d recommend adding sugar to taste and you can always add more at the end.
I love this idea and have some delicious wild plums that I’d like to make into kompot. What do you think, could I can it? I do this with homemade grape juice. Here’s how I do it, if you’ll permit me the share: http://vomitingchicken.com/make-grape-juice-way-grandma-made/
Amy, I haven’t tried canning kompot but you should be able to can it using your method and thank you for sharing :).
You put the sugar in last?? Que horror!
Yes. This is because all fruit has varying degrees of sweetness so I add the sugar to taste.