Traditional Uzvar Recipe: Dried Fruit Drink for Ukrainian Christmas Eve

Active time: ~15 minutes (plus steeping) | Total time: ~4.5 hours | Serves: 8 | Difficulty: Easy

Quick Overview

1. Rinse the dried fruit and raisins under cold water
2. Bring water to a boil, add the fruit, and simmer until soft and fragrant
3. Remove from the heat, cover, and let the compote steep for several hours
4. Stir in honey once the liquid has cooled to warm
5. Chill and serve alongside kutia as part of the Christmas Eve table

What Uzvar Is

Uzvar is a traditional Ukrainian fruit drink, a compote that can be made from fresh or dried fruit;¹ the Christmas version is made from dried fruit.² The usual fruit is pears, apples and plums, sometimes with cherries, and apricots are common in the south.³ Another old name for the drink is var, from varyty, “to cook.”⁴

Alongside kutia, the sweetened wheat dish, uzvar is one of the two main ceremonial dishes of Sviata Vecheria, the Ukrainian Christmas Eve Holy Supper, and both are known as “food of the gods.”² The supper itself traditionally has twelve meatless dishes. An article published by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage describes the bowl of uzvar being placed under the icons in the home’s holy corner, with some saved to drink after the first taste of kutia, which the family eats from one bowl.²

In the older custom, the liquid was poured into a jug and the softened fruit was brought to the table separately in a bowl.³ Uzvar was cooked on ordinary days as well as holidays,³ and it’s often described as a variety of kompot, the fruit drink made from fresh fruit in summer.⁷

On the Holiday Table

Uzvar comes back on New Year’s Eve. At Malanka, also called Shchedryi Vechir,⁸ kutia and uzvar are again the two dishes that have to be on the table.⁹ Both are on our Malanka menu.

Traditional Uzvar Recipe

This recipe was compiled by Heritage Healthy Kitchen from a comparison of published recipes; the sources are listed at the end of this article. Figures that are Heritage Healthy Kitchen’s own estimates rather than taken from a published source are marked as such.

The published recipes share one method: rinse the dried fruit, cook it in water, let it cool and infuse, then sweeten.^2,3,5,6 The amounts vary. For 3 liters of water, recipes use roughly 350–600g of dried fruit,^2,5 and the sweetening runs from honey added to taste to 200g of sugar.^2,5,6 Cooking ranges from 5–10 minutes of simmering to 3–4 hours in the oven.^3,6 The fruit below follows one published recipe,³ and the other amounts fall inside the published range. The number of servings, the yield, the simmering time and the steeping time are Heritage Healthy Kitchen’s estimates.

Ingredients

For the uzvar (serves 8, about 2.5 liters)

• 100g (about 3.5 oz) dried apples
• 100g (about 3.5 oz) dried pears
• 100g (about 3.5 oz) pitted prunes
• 50g (about 1¾ oz) raisins
• 3 liters (about 12¾ cups) water
• 80g (about 3¾ tablespoons) honey, or to taste

Instructions

Step 1: Rinse the fruit

Sort through the dried apples, pears, prunes and raisins and rinse them under cold running water.^3,5

Step 2: Simmer

Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add all the dried fruit, return to a boil, then lower the heat, cover and simmer for 20–25 minutes (an estimate, inside the published range^5,6), until the fruit is soft and the water has turned a deep amber.

Step 3: Steep

Take the pot off the heat, keep it covered and leave the compote to cool and infuse for at least 4 hours, or overnight (an estimate). Uzvar tastes better once it has infused.³

Step 4: Sweeten

While the liquid is still warm, stir in the honey until it dissolves.⁵ Taste and add more if the fruit was on the tart side.

Step 5: Chill and serve

Strain the liquid into a jug and serve the softened fruit separately in a bowl, as in the older custom,³ or leave the fruit in the glass. Chill before serving alongside kutia.

Kitchen Tips

Serve the fruit on the side. Traditionally the liquid went into a jug and the softened fruit into a separate bowl;³ some modern versions leave the fruit in the glass.

Go easy on the honey. Dried fruit is already sweet, and one recipe advises using honey with a light hand.⁶ Add it once the drink is warm rather than boiling hot.⁵

Smoked dried pears are worth looking for. Two of the published recipes call for smoked dried fruit.^2,5

Uzvar can also go over the kutia itself: one published kutia recipe finishes by pouring uzvar over it to cover.²

Nutritional Information

Per serving (1 of 8 servings)

• Calories: approximately 128–156 kcal
• Protein: ~0.8–0.9g
• Total fat: ~0.2g
• Carbohydrates: ~34–42g
• Fiber: ~2.9–3.5g

Nutritional values are estimates based on standard ingredient databases (USDA FoodData Central). They will vary depending on the specific dried fruit used and how much honey is added.

Storage and Reheating

Covered in the refrigerator, uzvar keeps for about 5 days, according to one published recipe.⁷

It’s served either warm, like tea, or chilled,⁷ so if you prefer it warm, heat a portion gently on the stove rather than boiling it.

Traditional Recipe Card

Traditional Uzvar

Prep ~15 minutes (plus steeping)Cook ~20-25 minutes (plus 4+ hours steeping)Serves 8

Ingredients

For the uzvar (serves 8, about 2.5 liters)

• 100g (about 3.5 oz) dried apples
• 100g (about 3.5 oz) dried pears
• 100g (about 3.5 oz) pitted prunes
• 50g (about 1¾ oz) raisins
• 3 liters (about 12¾ cups) water
• 80g (about 3¾ tablespoons) honey, or to taste

Instructions

1. Rinse the dried fruit and raisins under cold water
2. Bring water to a boil, add the fruit, and simmer until soft and fragrant
3. Remove from the heat, cover, and let the compote steep for several hours
4. Stir in honey once the liquid has cooled to warm
5. Chill and serve alongside kutia as part of the Christmas Eve table

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is uzvar the same as kompot?
Close, but not quite. Uzvar is often described as a variety of kompot: kompot is usually made from fresh fruit and berries in summer, while uzvar uses dried fruit.⁷ The Encyclopedia of Ukraine notes that uzvar can also be made from fresh fruit.¹

Why is uzvar served specifically alongside kutia?
The two are the main ceremonial dishes of Sviata Vecheria, the Ukrainian Christmas Eve Holy Supper, and the first dishes eaten that night.²

Is uzvar served hot or cold?
Either. It can be served warm, like tea, or chilled,⁷ and some recipes suggest serving it cold or at room temperature.⁶

What dried fruits go into uzvar?
Pears, apples and plums are the usual base, sometimes with cherries, and apricot uzvar is common in southern Ukraine.³

Can sugar replace the honey?
Yes. One published recipe uses sugar,² another uses sugar and says honey can replace it,³ and others sweeten with honey.^5,6

Is uzvar alcoholic?
No. The published recipes use only dried fruit, water and a sweetener, sometimes with spices.^2,3,5,6

Further Reading & Sources

The recipe is a compilation based on the published recipes listed here; these links are provided for readers who want to explore further.

1. Stechishin, S. “Traditional foods.” Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies. encyclopediaofukraine.com — Traditional Foods — uzvar as a compote made from fresh or dried fruit.
2. Poshyvailo, Tetiana. “‘Food of the Gods’ for Ukrainian Christmas: Kutia and Uzvar.” Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, December 12, 2023. folklife.si.edu — Kutia and Uzvar — uzvar and kutia as the two main ceremonial dishes and the first eaten; “food of the gods”; twelve meatless dishes; the bowl under the icons; uzvar after the first taste of kutia; a published uzvar recipe (500g smoked dried apples, pears or apricots, 100g prunes, 200g sugar, 3–4 liters water, 15 minutes of boiling); uzvar poured over kutia.
3. “Uzvar.” Authentic Ukraine (authenticukraine.com.ua), no author named on the page. authenticukraine.com.ua — Uzvar — usual fruit and regional apricot uzvar; cooked on holidays and weekdays; liquid in a jug, fruit in a bowl; a published recipe (100g each dried apples, cherries, pears and plums, 50g raisins, 1 cup sugar or honey, 1 liter water, 3–4 hours in the oven); tastes better after infusing.
4. Braichenko, Olena, and V’yacheslav Popkov. “Kutia with poppy seeds, walnuts and dried cherries.” Їzhakultura, January 5, 2021. yizhakultura.com — Kutia with poppy seeds — uzvar, also called var, from varyty, “to stew or cook.”
5. Klopotenko, Ievgen. “Mulled uzvar (dried fruit drink).” klopotenko.com, from his book Ukrainian Cuisine in 70 Dishes (Knigolav). klopotenko.com — Mulled uzvar — published recipe (350g sun-dried or smoked pears, prunes, apricots and apples, 3 liters water, 7–8 tbsp honey; 30 minutes covered on low heat; honey added while warm).
6. Victoria. “Uzvar: Ukrainian Spiced Fruit Compote.” Bois de Jasmin, January 6, 2015. boisdejasmin.com — Uzvar — published recipe (about 295g dried fruit, 1.25 liters water, soaked overnight, 5–10 minutes of simmering, honey optional and “with a light hand”); served cold or at room temperature.
7. Savchenko, Nataliia. “Ukrainian Christmas Uzvar.” Savas Kitchen, August 23, 2022 (modified April 13, 2023). savaskitchen.com — Ukrainian Christmas Uzvar — uzvar as a variety of kompot; served warm or chilled; keeps about 5 days in the fridge.
8. “Malanka.” Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies. Originally published in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 3 (1993); no author named on the page. encyclopediaofukraine.com — Malanka — the New Year’s Eve feast, also known as Shchedryi vechir.
9. “Щедрий вечір. 12 страв, які варто поставити на стіл на Маланку” [Shchedryi Vechir: 12 dishes to put on the Malanka table]. NV (nv.ua), December 30, 2024; no author named on the page. nv.ua — Malanka dishes — kutia and uzvar must be on the Malanka table.

Disclaimer

The information in this article is provided for educational and informational purposes only. Heritage Healthy Kitchen makes no representations or warranties regarding the accuracy or completeness of any content on this site. Nutritional values are estimates only and will vary depending on the specific ingredients, brands, and measurements used. This content is not intended as dietary, medical, or professional nutritional advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider regarding any dietary needs or health conditions. Heritage Healthy Kitchen is not responsible for any outcomes resulting from the use of recipes or information published on this site.

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