Monday, November 10, 2014

Cranberries

Cranberries are so very good for you. And, they're gorgeous. I love how they cook up. Our MJ Farm chapter is getting together to try out some cranberry sauces. I've had some very interesting recipes, one was to make fresh and the others were for canning. Some of us host families both on Thanksgiving and Christmas. We seriously need some sauces canned.
But, I've discovered one terrible thing! I'm not sure one of theses sauces will even make it to Thanksgiving, much less Christmas. I had some leftover from filling the canning jars. It went into the fridge to gel up and develop its flavors. Tried it this morning.....Wow! it's really good. The recipe called for up to 3/4 cup of honey. When I tasted the sauce in the pot, it was way too tart. I added some raw sugar. Let it melt and cook thru, tasted again. Still needed a bit more sweetness. A little more raw sugar. I was out of honey. It was so much better. (I noticed the fresh cranberries I used from Oregon were whitish pink and light red, so they were very tart, more than usual.) This sauce is combined with apples, some orange peel, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice.
The first recipe I made used jalapeno pepper. It was the last pepper in my garden. That made just one pint. It's on the tart side, and packs a little heat. Worth putting on the table for Thanksgiving. The final sauce I'm making is actually called a Cranberry-Pineapple Salad. Other than adding the crushed pineapple, the other ingredient that makes this one unique is some walnuts. It's great this time of year, one can find freshly dried nuts such as walnuts. My daughter requested this one. I read her the ingredients and she's so excited to know it'll be part of our meal. Having all these choices, I'll just serve all three. But, wait....there may be a fourth one! One of our members is making the cranberry sauce which includes fresh ginger. We're going to trade jars!! Soooo after our chapter meeting, four different sauces will be on our menu. Dying to try this one.
Cranberry sauce is fantastic with ham, chicken and some fish dishes. 
Here's the Cranberry Apple Sauce....
24 ounces fresh cranberries
6 medium apples, peeled, cored and chopped
1/4 - 3/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. allspice (you could use cloves if you like)
1 orange, peel off only the orange orange peel


Put all ingredient in a large pot. Cook slowly and on low heat. Once you see that the apples have lost their texture and becomes sauce, and all cranberries have popped, remove the peel. Taste for sweetness and spices. I added more raw sugar and more cinnamon and nutmeg.

This is how it should look when ready to can.
Use sterilized half-pint jars, fill 6. Water bath can for 15 minutes. Leave in canner for 5 minutes, then removed to cool on a towel. Check for seal 24 hours later. Label and store.

4 comments:

  1. This looks so goooood. Unfortunately my husband doesn't care for cranberries so the only time I get them is when we go out.

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  2. To be honest, mine likes the canned jellied sauce, won't touch the real berries. So I make him the jellied version and my kids and grandkids have been tasting my sauce I usually make and have grown to love Gramma's sauce. So one never knows.......I won't let anyone eat what's in the can, it has high fructose corn syrup.

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  3. I love cranberry sauce! My favorite way to eat it is with cottage cheese. Sounds weird, I know, but it's really good! I'm terribly jealous of your Farmgirl Chapter! :)

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  4. Where do you live? We're in Kent, WA. Just did our cranberry sauce canning. Jars were exchanged. I love what we made. Did some cranberry chocolate bark with pecans. So good. Love getting fresh cranberries.

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