Simple Rhubarb Compote Recipe (Rhababerkompott) (2024)

Published: Apr 20, 2021 · Modified: May 25, 2022 by Marita Sinden · 5 Comments

Spring comes with a lot of advantages. One of these is the start of the rhubarb season. A sweet enticing simple rhubarb compote is a welcome addition to every spring kitchen. The recipe has only three ingredients, but it’s uses are plenty.

Rhubarb Season in Germany

Rhubarb is one of the vegetables that I really enjoy growing in my garden. They are undemanding, quite easy to grow and always bring me a plentiful harvest.Rhubarb season in Germany is quite short. It starts in April and ends at the end of June. The reason not to harvest Rhubarb in July in Germany, is to give the plant enough time to regenerate before the first frost arrives. This ensures a plentiful harvest the following year.

Rhubarb in German is called Rhababer. Compote is “Kompott” in German. So Rhubarb compote translates as "Rhabarberkompott".

What is Rhubarb Compote?

Rhubarb Compote is fresh rhubarb stewed in a sugary syrup. The result is a chunky thick sauce that can be used for a variety of dishes. You can also make it with other fruit. Check out my cherry compote recipe.

How to make this simple Rhubarb Compote?

Ingredients

• 500 gr / 17.6 oz rhubarb
• 100 gr / 3.5 oz white sugar
• 1 vanilla pod. (Alternatively, simply add 2 teaspoon vanilla extract (affiliate link), or 6 teaspoon vanilla sugar (see homemade vanilla sugar recipe).

Recipe Steps

1. Remove the leaves of the rhubarb. Wash the stems of the rhubarb and then slice into about 3 cm chunks. It is not necessary to peel the rhubarb because it will help intensify the nice red colour once cooked.
2. Place the chunks into a large saucepan and mix in the sugar. Leave the sugar- rhubarb mix to rest for about 60 minutes. The rhubarb will start to release water. You may want to stir the rhubarb occasionally. (There is no need to add extra water to the compote. It would just water down the flavour.)
3. Now slice opens the vanilla bean (affiliate link) and scrape the seeds out. Add to the rhubarb and also place the skin of the vanilla pod into the mix.
4. Bring to boil and cook until the rhubarb is cooked soft. (This takes about 10 minutes).
5. Taste the compote – and if necessary, add more sugar, if you find it too sour.
6. If you find the compote too liquid, mix 2 tablespoon of cornflour with 1 tablespoon of water. Mix to a smooth paste. Bring the compote back to boil briefly. This should thicken your rhubarb compote.

How much sugar is to use in rhubarb?

Rhubarb has a slightly sour taste to it. When stewing the rhubarb the amount of sugar used is up to your own taste. I would advise at least using 70 gr to 500 g rhubarb. Then you can always adjust the sweetness up if desired.

Note, that the more sugar you use in your compote, the longer it will stay good.

How to keep rhubarb red when cooking

There is a common misconception that Rhubarb is always red. There are a lot of factors that will determine the colour of your rhubarb.

1. The rhubarb variety. – Some rhubarb varieties than others. Especially Red Rhubarb Varieties include:
   • German Red Wine Rhubarb ( Rheum x coltorum)
   • Raspberry Rhubarb (Frambozen rood)
   • Victoria Rhubarb
2. Most of the colour is in the peel. So I would suggest not peeling your rhubarb if you want to maintain its nice red colour.

I first made this recipe back in 2015 with the rhubarb from my garden. You can see that the colour is more yellow/green. However the taste is the same, so the colour of the rhubarb is simply an arbitrary preference.

If you find that your rhubarb is still not red enough for your liking you can do the following.

Techniques to make rhubarb redder while cooking.

1. Colour the rhubarb by adding some fruit juice, such as cranberry juice or grape juice.
2. Cook your rhubarb with other red fruits such as strawberry and raspberry.
3. Simply add a few drops of red food colouring to your mix.

What to do with your rhubarb compote?

There are plenty of ways to enjoy rhubarb compote. Here are some suggestions:

• Serve warm rhubarb compote with ice cream
• With pancakes
• On German waffles
• With some plain yoghurt
• With rice pudding (Milchreis)
• Mixed in with vanilla pudding.
• With Semolina pudding (Griesbrei)
• You can fill your Germknödel with it.

How long does Rhabarberkompott keep?

The compote should keep up to 2-3 days in the fridge. It may even last a bit longer, depending on how much sugar you used.

Can I freeze the compote?

Yes, this is my favourite way to conserve it. Simply place it in an airtight container and place in the freezer. This way it should stay good up for up to one year.

How should you store rhubarb compote?

You can rhubarb compote by filling it into sterilised jars. With this method, it should keep for several months. Check this blog on how to can rhubarb compote in more detail.

Enjoy cooking with fruit? Then you might like these recipes:

• Blueberry and Almond Cake
• German Strawberry Vanilla Cake
• Rhubarb Tarts - quick and easy
• Strawberry and Dark Chocolate Cake

Did you try this recipe?

Please leave a rating or a comment below. I would love to hear from you. You can send me an e-mail or comment on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest.

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This post was first published in Sept 2016 and updated in April 2021

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