Editing Compote (section)

==History==
Compote conformed to the medieval belief that fruit cooked in sugar syrup balanced the effects of humidity on the body. The name is derived from the [[Latin]] word ''compositus'', meaning mixture.  In late medieval England it was served at the beginning of the last course of a feast (or sometimes the second out of three courses), often accompanied by a creamy [[potage]].<ref>Constance B. Hieatt and Sharon Butler, ed.  ''Curye on Inglysch''.  The Early English Text Society, New York, 1985.</ref><ref name=Austin>Thomas Austin, ed.  ''Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books''.  The Early English Text Society, New York, 1888 (reprinted 1964).</ref><ref>[http://www.florilegium.org/?http%3A//www.florilegium.org/files/FEASTS/idxfeasts.html Information on the Coronation feast of Richard III, taken from Sutton, Anne F. and PW Hammond, The Coronation of Richard III: the Extant Documents, New York; St. Martin's Press, 1983.]</ref>  During the Renaissance, it was served chilled at the end of dinner. Because it was easy to prepare, made from inexpensive ingredients and contained no dairy products, compote became a staple of Jewish households throughout Europe.<ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/culture/food-wine/be-merry-a-taste-of-poland.premium-1.470666 Be Merry / A taste of Poland], [[Haaretz]]</ref> In modern [[French language|French]], the term refers to usually unsweetened fruit [[purée]] without fruit chunks, such as [[applesauce]]..