A compote is a sweet cooked preparation of whole or cut fruit (such as apples, pears, cherries, strawberries, plums) and sugar, usually more liquid in consistency than jams, jellies or preserves. Compotes may also contain spices.

Known in Polish as kompot, it is a traditional drink in Poland. In the mid-1980s, 60 percent of beverages consumed by an average Pole consisted of compote and other home-made concoctions. Today that number has dropped to 30 percent. In some homes tea with lemon may be an alternative for compote (in Poland tea is drunk not only after meals, but also with meals). Note that you are unlikely to find compote in Polish restaurants. It is considered a typically homemade beverage. Also note that in Poland nowadays compote and tea are being more and more frequently supplanted by fruit juices.