Cranberry season and all things delicious.
I covet a can of jellied cranberry sauce at least once per holiday season for sandwiches but cranberry pie, bread and sauce are just the tip of the iceberg!
What are your favorite ways to cranberry?
4 Likes
My half kilo of cranberries are now washed, dried and frozen for use nearer Xmas.
They’ll get used three ways. First, replacing the usual sharp apple in braised red cabbage. Second, studding a pork terrine (although I’m not sure I’m going to make it this year. And in the cranberry pudding halfway down the page on this link:
2 Likes
My homemade sauce is on hold this year…we opted for ham for Thanksgiving, so the bird moves to Christmas.
I have used the leftovers in cranberry bread, and even used it as a base for cocktails.
I’ve got some dried ones, still thinking the best way to use them.
1 Like
What type of cocktail? Sounds right up my alley.
Cabbage and cranberry sounds terrific! Thanks for the link. You have marvelous suggestions.
1 Like
I just added dried to corn muffins but I chopped them really fine first.
1 Like
I don’t like cranberries but this gorgeous tart always pops up and catches my eye this time of year
2 Likes
Thanks. They are a relatively recent introduction to British food. It was maybe 20 years back that you started to see. So, we’ve no real traditions with the fruit. Means we can invent stuff .
2 Likes
I prefer tart over sweet in all things cranberry. Some years ago I stumbled upon a recipe for Al Roker’s uncooked cranberry relish, which you’ll find at the end of the linked article below.
This is a make-ahead recipe because the cranberries need time to macerate in the sugar. I make the relish on Monday or Tuesday of Thanksgiving week and store it in mason jars in the fridge.
The recipe as written calls for an unpeeled orange although I always peel. Usually I sub a couple of peeled clementines for the orange, only because we have them around for snacking.
Also I always hold back on sugar when making any cranberry relish or sauce. Maybe about half the sugar goes in, then I add more until the relish is just sweet enough.
1 Like
The cranberry pudding has been a thing in Canada for quite a while. A lot of Canadians love cranberries but dislike plum pudding, so one company sells a frozen Cranberry Christmas pudding which is nice. I buy it at a Xmas craft and food show that has vendors from across Canada. https://cranberrycreek.com/
I will post a few North American cranberry pudding recipes.
From Prince Edward Island
From an American Butter company https://www.landolakes.com/recipe/20074/steamed-cranberry-pudding/
2 Likes
I made and fell in love with the Red Wine Cranberry Sauce with Honey and fresh ginger from NYT Cooking last year. Paywall so I can paraphrase if anyone is interested.
2 Likes
My two favorite recipes are a Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake and a Pumpkin-Cranberry Bread.
Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake
1 12 oz. bag fresh cranberries – picked over
1-1/3 cups sugar – plus 2 Tablespoons
2 lbs cream cheese, at room temperature – cut into 8 pieces
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs – at room temperature
1 pint sour cream – at room temperature
In a medium nonreactive saucepan, combine the cranberries and 3/4 cup of water. Bring to a boil over moderate heat and boil, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries burst and the mixture reduces to 1 1/4 cups, about 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in 1/3 cup of the sugar until dissolved. Strain the mixture through a coarse sieve and let the puree cool completely.
Preheat the oven to 275°. Butter and flour a 9x2-3/4" springform pan. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese with the remaining 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. sugar and the vanilla at low speed until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating until just blended. Stir in the sour cream.
Spoon half of the cream cheese mixture into the prepared pan. Drop 8 or 9 rounded teaspoons of the cranberry puree randomly over the top. Spoon half of the remaining cheesecake mixture even over the first layer, and dot with half of the remaining puree. Repeat with the remaining cheesecake mixture and puree. (Avoid dropping puree in the center of more than 1 layer.) With a blunt knife, cut through the batter in a swirling motion to distribute the cranberry puree.
Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake in the lower part of the oven for 1 hour. Turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake in for 1 hour longer (NO peeking!!!). Transfer the cake to a rack and let cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate overnight before serving.
Pumpkin-Cranberry Bread
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
1 cup cranberries – chopped
In large bowl, combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. In small mixer bowl, beat eggs. Beat in sugar, oil, and pumpkin. Pour pumpkin mixture into dry ingredients; stir with wooden spoon just until moistened. Stir in cranberries. Spoon batter into 2 greased and floured 8x4-inch loaf pans (or 4 mini-loaf pans). Bake in preheated 350°F oven for 60 minutes (or 45 minutes for smaller loaves), or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 to 10 minutes; remove from pan and cool completely.
3 Likes
I know @Harters shares my love of Delia Smith recipes. She has a good one for this that I am fairly sure I’ve made and enjoyed.
2 Likes
I’m very fond of sugared cranberries and often use them to decorate desserts this time of the year. When I’m not noshing on them…
Cranberry muffins, bread, scones and added to apple pie are more than fine with me. For some unknown reason Ive never been satisfied with craisins although I buy them from time to tome hoping to get inspired. Funny, because I often use raisins in baked goods.
Ocean Spray canned cranberry sauce, both the jellied and whole berry versions, are always on my Thanksgiving table.
4 Likes
This has been my standard cranberry sauce recipe ever since I started hosting my own Thanksgiving, starting in 2005 or so: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/cranberry-sauce-with-port-and-dried-figs-105836 I reduce the port and sugar just slightly, no other changes. However, I’m not a big fan of cranberries in most other applications, especially dried. I always substitute dried cherries.
4 Likes
Spent some time shopping for the holiday today and picked up a few bags of fresh cranberries. So glad I did! We are not doing any hosting this year. But will be visiting family and friends over a 2 week period. We have been invited to bring a dish. So my cranberry plans begin!
2 Likes
Served all winter in Finland, but super for our holidays or for fast unexpected dessert dish: Frozen cranberries and caramel. Essentials here. usually served over vanilla ice cream.
3 Likes
Really simple…I use a spoonful with sparkling wine for a riff on a kir.
Also good with vodka and soda…or with a sweet rose for a really nice sangria
1 Like
Delia taught my generation of Britons how to cook. If I could only keep one author’s cookbooks, it would be a toss-up between her & Nigel Slater.
I have done that red cabbage recipe and it works - but I just prefer the texture of it long cooked (which I can portion and freeze)
3 Likes
