Uzvar - 6 recipes

Uzvar, or in other words vzvar, is a sweet and healthy drink made from various dried fruits, which has long been prepared in Rus' for the Christmas table. The essence of uzvar is not to boil dried fruits, as for compote, but to brew them with boiling water or briefly boil them, followed by a long infusion of the drink. During this time, dry fruits impart their aroma, taste and nutrients to the drink as much as possible.

Classic dried fruit uzvar

The classic uzvar made from dried fruits is traditionally prepared for the table on Christmas Eve before Christmas and Epiphany, but this drink is tasty and healthy at any time of the year, especially in winter. The classic version involves a large selection of “native” dried fruits with the obligatory inclusion of dry pears, and the preparation process is the same as for any brew. Honey is used as a sweetener for the broth.

1. 
   Rinse the prepared dried fruits, with the exception of raisins, prunes and cranberries, in a colander under running water. Place them in a large saucepan for uzvar, add 5 liters of clean warm water and leave for 3 hours at home temperature.
2. 
   After this steeping time, transfer the raisins with prunes and cranberries to the pan.Place the pan over high heat and bring the uzvar to a boil.
3. 
   If desired, you can add any spices to the broth. Cook the broth for no more than 2-3 minutes from the start of boiling, turn off the heat and cover the pan with a lid.
4. 
   Then wrap the pan in a terry towel and leave for at least 6 hours. After this time, sweeten the uzvar with honey to your taste, taking into account that the uzvar is sweet due to dried fruits.
5. 
   Pour the uzvar prepared according to the classic recipe into glass containers and place in the refrigerator. It can be poured into mugs and served, and the fruit will be a separate dessert. Bon appetit!

Rosehip uzvar

Rosehip uzvar has a good taste and, like a berry, is rich in substances beneficial to the body. Uzvar is prepared from rose hips in the cold season to prevent colds. Uzvar with this dried berry requires a long infusion time. A simple way to prepare uzvar is to brew it in a thermos, but in this recipe we cook it in a saucepan.

Cooking time: 1 day.

Cooking time: 5 minutes.

Servings: 1 l.

Ingredients:

• Dried rose hips – 30 pcs.
• Water – 1 l.
• Sugar - to taste.

Cooking process:

Step 1. Dry rose hips contain a lot of small debris, so they should be washed well under running water.

Step 2. Transfer them to a saucepan for cooking uzvar, add a liter of clean water and place on medium heat.

Step 3. After the boil begins, cook the rose hips for 3-4 minutes, no more, and remove the pan from the stove. Then close it with a lid, cover with a towel and leave for a day at room temperature to infuse.

Step 4. Strain the prepared rosehip uzvar into a sieve, add sugar to your taste and the drink can be served.Bon appetit!

Uzvar without sugar

Uzvar without sugar will be an exquisite healthy drink, an alternative to soda and cola, for both adults and children. For uzvar without sugar, the set of dried fruits includes their sweet types: dried apricots, pears, raisins and others, which contain natural glucose. The ratio of water and dried fruits is arbitrary and the more there are, the richer the uzvar will be. To taste, this uzvar can be sweetened with honey.

Cooking time: 2 hours.

Cooking time: 5 minutes.

Servings: 3 l.

Ingredients:

Dried fruits:

• Apples – 100 gr.
• Peaches – 100 gr.
• Cherries – 100 gr.
• Apricots – 100 gr.
• Pears – 100 gr.
• Plums – 100 gr.
• Water – 3 l.
• Honey - optional.

Cooking process:

Step 1. Immediately prepare a set of dried fruits, according to the proportions of the recipe.

Step 2. Pour them into a colander and rinse well under running water.

Step 3. Place the washed dried fruits in a saucepan for cooking uzvar.

Step 4. Fill them with three liters of clean water and place the pan on high heat.

Step 5. Bring the uzvar to a boil and immediately turn off the heat.

Step 6. Then remove the pan from the stove, cover with a lid and leave to steep for at least 2 hours. If desired, you can add a little honey to the cooled uzvar.

Step 7. Pour the prepared sugar-free uzvar into mugs and can be served. Bon appetit!

Uzvar with prunes

Uzvar with prunes, supplemented with other dried fruits, can be an alternative to modern energy drinks, fresh juices and cocktails, but such a rich flavor combination cannot be obtained from fresh fruits. For uzvar, dried prunes with a pleasant “chocolate” flavor are chosen, in harmony with other dried fruits, because there are also smoked prunes, which are added to the meat.

Cooking time: 10 hours.

Cooking time: 10 minutes.

Servings: 3 l.

Ingredients:

• Dried prunes – 200 gr.
• Dried apples – 150 gr.
• Dried cherries – 150 gr.
• Sugar – 100 gr.
• Water – 3 l.

Cooking process:

Step 1. Immediately prepare, according to the proportions of the recipe, all the ingredients for the uzvar.

Step 2. Wash the dried apple slices and place them in a saucepan for cooking uzvar.

Step 3. Then rinse the dried prunes and cherries and add to the apples.

Step 4. Add sugar to the dried fruits, but you can skip this step or add honey to the finished drink.

Step 5. Pour three liters of clean water over the dried fruits. Place the pan over high heat without covering it with a lid, bring to a boil and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes until the dried fruits become soft.

Step 6. Then turn off the fire. Cover the pan with a lid and leave the uzvar for 10 hours to infuse, because the richness of the taste and color of the drink depends on this time.

Step 7. After this time, strain the uzvar into a sieve and pour into jugs. From boiled fruits you can make fruit jelly with gelatin or a filling for homemade baked goods.

Step 8. Pour the cooled uzvar into glasses and serve. Prepared uzvar with prunes can be stored in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Bon appetit!

Uzvar with spices

Spices give uzvar a wonderful and unusual aroma, and the version of uzvar with spices will perfectly complement any table. For such an uzvar you need to take a set of dried fruits of at least 4-5 types. In this spice recipe, we take a traditional set of Christmas spices from star anise, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, dry ginger and allspice, and add tangerine flavor.

Cooking time: 12 hours.

Cooking time: 20 minutes.

Servings: 2 l.

Ingredients:

• Dried fruits – 250 gr.
• Mandarin – 2 pcs.
• Cinnamon – 1 stick.
• Star anise – 1 star.
• Cardamom – 4 pcs.
• Cloves – 4 pcs.
• Allspice – 4 pcs.
• Dried ground ginger – 1 tsp.
• Water – 2 l.

Cooking process:

Step 1. Immediately prepare all the spices according to the recipe proportions and the amount of uzvar you need. There is no need to grind the spices.

Step 2. Pour them into a saucepan for cooking uzvar and, if you have them, add some goji berries.

Step 3. Soak the selected dried fruits in warm water for 15 minutes, then rinse and place in a saucepan.

Step 4. Rinse the tangerines well, cut into circles along with the zest and place in a saucepan.

Step 5. Pour two liters of boiling water over these ingredients, put the pan on high heat and bring the uzvar to a boil. Then simmer it over low heat and without a lid for 20 minutes.

Step 6. Remove the pan with the uzvar from the stove, cover with a lid and leave overnight to infuse. Strain the uzvar through cheesecloth or a sieve and pour into a jug. Divide the prepared uzvar with spices into cups, if desired, put a little honey in each cup and serve the drink at the table. Bon appetit!

Uzvar with honey

Uzvar made from our traditional dried fruits and sweetened with honey will be a healthy and tonic drink for any table, and it is easy to prepare. Dried fruits, unlike compote, are infused in water for several hours, which preserves all their properties as much as possible. Honey is added to the cooled uzvar and its quantity is determined by the sweetness of the selected dried fruits. In this recipe, add raisins, lemon and dried apricots to dry apples and pears.

Cooking time: 6 hours 30 minutes.

Cooking time: 15 minutes.

Servings: 1 l.

Ingredients:

• Dried apples – 100 gr.
• Dried pears – 100 gr.
• Dried apricots – 100 gr.
• Raisins – 50 gr.
• Honey – 3 tbsp.
• Water – 1 l.
• Lemon – 1 pc.

Cooking process:

Step 1. Rinse dried fruits thoroughly. If you have whole or halved pears, cut them into smaller pieces. Then pour all the dried fruits with a liter of clean cold water and leave to infuse for 2 hours.

Step 2. After this time, strain the infusion onto a sieve and pour the broth into a saucepan for cooking uzvar. Leave the dried fruits aside for now.

Step 3. Rinse the lemon, scald with boiling water, carefully remove the zest and squeeze out the juice.

Step 4. Transfer the zest to the infusion, bring to a boil over high heat and immediately remove the pan from the stove. Remove the lemon zest from the infusion.

Step 5. Place the soaked dried fruits into a large jug and fill with hot infusion. Cool the uzvar to normal temperature, dissolve honey in it and put it in the refrigerator for 2-4 hours. You can serve the prepared uzvar with honey either cold or warm, and put the dried fruits in glasses before serving. Bon appetit!