For light work and even lighter cleanup, make your fruit compote in the microwave.
Fruit compote is, fundamentally, a mixture of fruit and sugar cooked down into a sauce.
Ive found that making a microwave compote is most successful with frozen berries.
Their cellular structure is already weakened from being frozen, making their juices readily available once thawed.
Fresh fruit requires more intervention.
I used a combination of frozen strawberries and frozen cherries.
(The blueberries are off-limits since they belong to my boyfriends smoothies.)
Add your fro-fruit of choice to a microwave safe measuring cup with a splash of water or fruit juice.
This liquid will provide a buffer and help conduct the heat more evenly.
For roughly a cup and a quarter of frozen berries, add one tablespoon of water.
Pop it in the microwave for one minute.
At this point the berries should be mostly defrosted and plenty of juice should be loose.
Mash up the fruit with a spoon, or two forks to make smaller pieces, and taste it.
Add a tablespoon or so of sugar depending on your preference.
In a small bowl, stir together a small amount of cornstarch slurry.
Take it out and give it a stir.
Microwave it again for 10-30 seconds, but keep an eye on it.
If it starts to bubble and rise in the measuring cup, its done.
Slight adjustments might be necessary.
Leftovers can be stored in the fridge, covered, for about five days.
Microwave for one minute.
The berries should be mostly thawed.
Give them a good smash to break up the fruit.
(For stubborn fruit, use an immersion blender for one or two pulses.)
Microwave for another 30 seconds to completely defrost the fruit.
Taste the fruit and add sugar if needed.
Mix the cornstarch and second installment of water to make a slurry.
Stir this into the fruit mixture thoroughly.
Microwave for 30 seconds.
Microwave for 10-30 seconds, or until the mixture begins to bubble and rise.
Test the consistency, keeping in mind it will thicken slightly more as it cools.
For a thicker fruit compote, add more cornstarch slurry, and repeat the microwave step.
