compotée

Fruits cooked with sugar make a compotée. It’s often part of a dessert, but there are also savoury versions, such as compotée d’oignons or compotée de chou rouge aux pommes.

If it’s compote in French, it’s more likely to not have any bits in it: compote de pommes for instance, is smooth apple sauce.

Compote is one of those French-English false friend words that can lead to giggles, as when a French friend said, to our surprise: ‘I always like to serve roast pork with compost.’