Pack summer into a jar with this delicious chunky Peach Compote or smooth Peach Sauce. This recipe uses a combination of honey and brown sugar to sweeten, and fresh rosemary to add subtle flavor. It’s a great way to use up leftover peaches and the perfect condiment to many breakfast and dessert dishes.
Sauces, compotes, and curds are such easy condiments to make. These are fantastic excuses to use up left over fruits from your trip to the farmer’s market before they go bad. They take very little time, and will add great flavor and variety to breakfast pancakes or ice cream.
How to prepare peaches for Peach Compote or Peach Sauce
Should I peel peaches before cooking?
When making a cooked peach sauce or compote, I like to peel them. Once cooked, the skin will fall apart anyways. They don’t taste very peachy and tend to be tarter than the fruit. But for fresh fruit recipe like these peach shortcakes, I leave them with the skin intact.
How do I peel peaches?
You can peel them with:
- a knife
- a vegetable peeler
- or by blanching them in boiling water
This recipe only calls for 2 peaches, so I peeled them with a knife to make things simple. But if you’re making a big batch, or peeling a lot of peaches for a peach pie, the vegetable peeler or the blanching method will be your friend.
How do I pit a peach?
If the peach is freestone, it will be very easy to pit. Just slice the peach in half, hold each half with your hand and twist open. If the peach is clingstone, you can try this same method but it may or may not work very well. In that case, just slice them open with a knife, away from the pit.
How to make honey rosemary Peach Sauce
Peach Compote Process Photos Step 1 – 6
- Peel and dice the peaches into bite size cubes.
- Add wine, water, honey and brown sugar to a small sauce pan.
- Bring the liquid mixture to a boil over medium heat, about 3 minutes.
- Add rosemary to the boiling liquid and reduce heat just slightly to keep the liquid simmering. Continue cooking until the liquid reduces to a quarter of what you started with, about 16 minutes.
- Remove the rosemary with a tong and add diced peaches to the reduced sauce along with a pinch of salt.
- Continue cooking until most of the liquid has evaporated and peaches are tender, stirring occasionally, about 12 – 13 minutes.
Do you prefer a chunky peach compote or a smooth peach sauce?
If you prefer a chunkier style peach compote, you are finished with the sauce at this point. Just allow it to cool before transferring to a jar for storage. If you want a smoother peach sauce, continue on with the last two steps.
Smooth peach sauce process photos Step 7 – 8
- Add the cool peach compote to a food processor.
- Blend until smooth, and transfer to a jar for storage.
What if I don’t drink wine, can I omit wine in this recipe?
I’ve made this recipe without wine, it will work. It will take just a little less time as there isn’t as much liquid to cook down. Also the acidity in the wine adds brightness to the final peach sauce. This will be missing when you omit wine, but you can combat this by adding a splash of lemon juice to the mixture in step 6 above or just at the end.
Flavors that go well with peaches
What other fresh herbs can I use?
In place of rosemary, these herbs go well with peaches if you’re looking for a different flavor:
- Basil
- Cinnamon basil
- Mexican tarragon
Can I use spices instead?
If you decide to make this on the spur of the moment and don’t have any fresh herbs, you can certainly use one of the spices you already have in your pantry or a combination of these to wake up your peach sauce:
- Cinnamon
- Cloves
- Ginger
- Vanilla extract (stir in at the end)
- Almond extract (stir in at the end)
Can I use a different type of sugar?
You can use granulated white sugar, but I prefer one of the following, or a combination for the deeper flavor they impart:
- Brown sugar (used in this recipe, both light brown and dark brown will work)
- Honey (used in this recipe)
- Maple syrup (was not tested, but will impart a different flavor on the sauce)
- Caramelized sugar
What to serve peach sauce with
This peach sauce is a great way to use up left over summer peaches from the farmer’s market. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week. It can be served as a topping on both breakfast and dessert like these:
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment, send me a photo, rate it and don’t forget to tag me @wildwildwhisk on Instagram. I’d love to see what’s cooking up in your kitchen. Cheers!
📖 Recipe card
Peach Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 large peaches (about 1 lb, once peeled & diced yield 2 ½ cup, 14 ½ oz, 411 g)
- ½ cup white wine (116 g)
- ½ cup water (114 g)
- 1 tablespoon honey (21 g)
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar (15 g, tightly packed)
- 1 sprig rosemary
- A pinch of salt
Instructions
- Wash peaches, remove the pit, peel and dice into bite size pieces. For this recipe, I used 2 large peaches which weight about 1 lb 1 oz whole. Once peeled and diced, they yield about 14 ½ oz and fill about 2 ½ cup.
- Add wine, water, honey and sugar to a sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium heat, this will take about 3 minutes.
- Add rosemary to the boiling liquid and reduce heat just slightly to keep the liquid simmering. Reduce the liquid to a quarter of what you started with, this will take about 16 minutes.
- Remove the rosemary with a tong and add diced peaches to the reduced sauce along with a pinch of salt and let cook until most of the liquid has evaporated and peaches are tender, stirring occasionally. This will take about 12 - 13 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and allow the sauce to cool.
- Optional: puree the peach sauce in a food processor if a non-chunky, smooth sauce is desired.
Notes
- If sweeter sauce is desired or if the peaches you use aren’t as sweet, increase brown sugar or honey to 2 tablespoons.
- If using chunky style peach compote as a filling for hand pies, double the amount of sugar and honey.
- Wine can be omitted if you don’t want to use alcohol, it will take less time to reduce the liquid. But the final flavor will not be as bright. The wine brings out a brighter taste in the sauce. Add some lemon juice to bring it back.
- Feel free to play with different type of fresh herbs and spices to change up the flavor: basil, cinnamon basil, Mexican tarragon, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, vanilla extract, almond extract, maple syrup, caramel.
- Refrigerate for up to a week.
Nutrition
Can you can this with a water bath
Hey Megan, I don’t do canning so I am unable to answer your question. However, from searching around on the web, it looks like water bath canning is appropriate for acidic food like fruit. So if I have to guess, I think you can. But I didn’t develop this recipe specifically for canning so I don’t know if it would require anything extra.
Can’t wait to try this recipe!
How long will it keep and do you store it in a refrigerator?
Hi Debra, yes definitely store it in the fridge, it will last maximum a week.
This looks delicious!
I can’t wait for peaches to try this. It looks fantastic. Thanks for adding all the tips and tricks. I never had heard of freestone and clingstone.
The precision of the recipe (e.g,, 1 tablespoon brown sugar ‘tightly packed’) feeds the compulsive/obsessive component of one’s personality.
I’m glad we’re on the same page! I strive to be more precise every day wherever I can 🙂