Holiday Cranberry Recipes

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Autumn is a time of wonderful flavors and big holiday meals. Try these cranberry recipes for your next autumn get-together!

Here in Maine, leaves have aged to rich, deep shades of red and orange, the nights are chilly, and the days crisp — though often gloriously sunny at the same time.

We have a lot of very old apple trees on our property — most with twisted, gnarly trunks, and half falling down. Some years they don’t bear much, but this year they are laden with fruit.

Last weekend, we spent many hours on ladders picking, and at the end of the day had about twelve bushels of apples put away in the barn waiting to be pressed into cider.

I usually make and can some kind of cranberry chutney around this time of year, in preparation for the holidays. I often include oranges in the chutney, but this year, given the abundance of apples, a cranberry chutney with apples seems just the thing for the holiday table. This chutney goes beautifully with roast turkey, and is also great on an appetizer tray, as an accompaniment to a crusty baguette and some sharp cheddar cheese.

Enjoy and Happy Holidays!

Cranberry-Apple Chutney

Recipe by Allison Carroll Duffy

[ Yield: 4-5 half-pint (8 ounce) jars ]

To do ahead of time: ***Prepare the calcium water. To do this, combine 1/2 teaspoon white calcium powder (included in the Pomona’s Universal Pectin package) with 1/2 cup water in a small, clear container with a lid. Shake well before using. Note that you will have more calcium water than you will end up using in this recipe; simply store it in the refrigerator for later use.

Ingredients: 

• 24 ounces (two 12 oz bags) of fresh cranberries
• 1/2 pound apples (about 2 small apples)
• 2/3 cup diced onion
• 2 tablespoons peeled, finely-minced ginger root
• 1 tablespoon mustard seed
• 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1-1/2 cups water
• 2 teaspoons calcium water
• 1-1/3 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons Pomona’s pectin powder

Directions: 

1. Wash and rinse jars, lids, and screw bands. Set screw bands aside until ready to use. Place jars in boiling water bath canner with a rack, fill at least 2/3 of the way full with water, and bring to a boil. Boil jars for 10 minutes to sterilize (add 1 additional minute of sterilizing time for every 1000 feet above sea level), then turn down heat and let jars stand in hot water until ready to use. Place lids in water in a small pan, bring to a low simmer, and hold there until ready to use.
2. Rinse cranberries, then set aside.
3. Peel and core the apples, discarding peel and cores. Then dice the apples.
4. Combine the cranberries, diced apples, diced onion, minced ginger, mustard seed, cardamom, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, vinegar, and the 1 ½ cups water in a large saucepan. Cover the mixture and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, still covered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from the heat.
5. Transfer the mixture into a bowl or other heat-proof container. Then, measure out 4 cups of the mixture. (If you have any left over, you can use it for something else.) Pour the measured quantity of the mixture back into the saucepan. Add the calcium water, then stir to combine.
6. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar and the pectin powder. Mix well and set aside.
7. Put the saucepan on the stove and bring the cranberry-apple mixture up to a rolling boil over high heat. Add the sugar-pectin mixture, then stir vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes, still over the highest heat, to dissolve pectin. Return the chutney to a boil, then remove from heat.
8. Remove hot jars from canner and fill jars with chutney, leaving ¼ inch of headspace. Remove trapped air bubbles, wipe rims with a damp cloth, and put on lids and screw bands, tightening bands only to “fingertip tight” (until resistance is met, and then just the tiniest bit more).
9. Place jars in the hot water, on the rack inside the canner. (Make sure jars are upright, not touching each other or the sides of the canner, and are covered with at least 1-2 inches of water). Place the lid on the canner, return the canner to a rolling boil, and boil for 10 minutes. (Add 1 minute additional processing time for every 1000 feet above sea level.)
10. Turn off heat and allow canner and jars to sit for 5 minutes. Then, remove jars from canner.
11. Allow jars to cool undisturbed for 12-24 hours. Then, confirm that jars have sealed. Remove screw bands from sealed jars, rinse off outside of jars if necessary, label jars, and store for later use.

[ Printable Recipe, HERE ]

Once you’ve cleaned up those turkey leftovers the next holiday is right around the corner, try a jam that packed a fruity, tangy punch. It’s perfect for a gift or maybe on the early morning toast by the fire.

Cranberry-Orange-Pear Holiday Jam

Recipe & Photos by Allison Carroll Duffy

Cranberry-Orange-Pear Holiday Jam is a low-honey cooked jam made with Pomona’s Pectin. Pomona’s Pectin contains no sugar or preservatives and jells reliably with low amounts of any sweetener.

Yield: 4 to 5 cups

Before You Begin:
Prepare calcium water. To do this, combine 1/2 teaspoon calcium powder (in the small packet in your box of Pomona’s pectin) with 1/2 cup water in a small, clear jar with a lid. Shake well. Extra calcium water should be stored in the refrigerator for future use.

Ingredients: 

• 12 ounces fresh, whole cranberries
• 3 medium oranges
• 3 medium pears
• 1 Tablespoon orange zest
• 1-1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 4 teaspoons calcium water
• 1 cup honey
• 2-1/2 teaspoons Pomona’s pectin powder

Cranberry-Orange-Pear Holiday Jam Directions

1. Wash and rinse jars, lids, and screw bands. Set screw bands aside until ready to use. Place jars in boiling water bath canner with a rack, fill at least 2/3 of the way full with water, and bring to a boil. Boil jars for 10 minutes to sterilize (add 1 additional minute of sterilizing time for every 1000 feet above sea level), then turn down heat and let jars stand in hot water until ready to use. Place lids in water in a small pan, bring to a low simmer, and hold there until ready to use.
2. Rinse the cranberries in a colander. Transfer the cranberries to a food processor and pulse them until they turn into a very fine mash, or pulp – not quite fully pureed, but almost. Then, transfer the cranberry pulp to a large saucepan and set it aside.
3. Rinse the oranges well. Using a zester or a very fine grater, grate the outside skin of one or more of the oranges to obtain zest. Measure out 1 Tablespoon of orange zest and add it the cranberry pulp.
4. Peel the oranges and discard the remaining skin. Pull all of the orange segments apart, discard the seeds, and remove and discard all of the membranes from each individual orange segment. Then, transfer the orange segments to the food processor. Pulse the oranges very briefly – just long enough to turn them into pulp. Be careful not to liquefy them. Measure out 1-1/3 cups of the orange pulp and add it to the cranberry pulp. (If you are left with extra orange pulp, simply use it for something else).
5. Peel and core the pears. Transfer the pears to a mixing bowl and mash well. Measure out 1-1/3 cups mashed pear and add it to the cranberry-orange mixture. (If you are left with extra mashed pear, simply use it for something else).
6. Add all of the spices, as well as the lemon juice and calcium water, to the mixture. Stir to combine.
7. In a separate bowl, combine the honey and pectin powder. Mix well and set aside.
8. Put the saucepan on the stove and bring the cranberry-orange-pear mixture up to a rolling boil over high heat. Add the honey-pectin mixture, then stir vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes, still over the highest heat, to dissolve pectin. Return jam to a boil, then remove from heat.
9. Remove hot jars from canner and fill jars with jam, leaving ¼ inch of headspace. Remove trapped air bubbles, wipe rims with a damp cloth, and put on lids and screw bands, tightening bands only to “fingertip tight” (until resistance is met, and then just the tiniest bit more).
10. Place jars in the hot water, on the rack inside the canner. (Make sure jars are upright, not touching each other or the sides of the canner, and are covered with at least 1-2 inches of water). Place the lid on the canner, return the canner to a rolling boil, and boil for 10 minutes. (Add 1 minute additional processing time for every 1000 feet above sea level.)
11. Turn off heat and allow canner and jars to sit for 5 minutes. Then remove jars from canner.
12. Allow jars to cool undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours. Then confirm that jars have sealed. Remove screw bands from sealed jars, rinse off outside of jars if necessary, label jars, and store for later use.

Recipe and photos by Allison Carroll Duffy

Recipe by Allison Carroll Duffy
 [ Yield: 4-5 half-pint (8 ounce) jars ]
 To do ahead of time:
***Prepare the calcium water. To do this, combine 1/2 teaspoon white calcium powder (included in the Pomona’s Universal Pectin package) with 1/2 cup water in a small, clear container with a lid. Shake well before using. Note that you will have more calcium water than you will end up using in this recipe; simply store it in the refrigerator for later use.

Ingredients: 

• 24 ounces (two 12 oz bags) of fresh cranberries
• 1/2 pound apples (about 2 small apples)
• 2/3 cup diced onion
• 2 tablespoons peeled, finely-minced ginger root
• 1 tablespoon mustard seed
• 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1-1/2 cups water
• 2 teaspoons calcium water
• 1-1/3 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons Pomona’s pectin powder

Directions: 

1. Wash and rinse jars, lids, and screw bands. Set screw bands aside until ready to use. Place jars in boiling water bath canner with a rack, fill at least 2/3 of the way full with water, and bring to a boil. Boil jars for 10 minutes to sterilize (add 1 additional minute of sterilizing time for every 1000 feet above sea level), then turn down heat and let jars stand in hot water until ready to use. Place lids in water in a small pan, bring to a low simmer, and hold there until ready to use.
2. Rinse cranberries, then set aside.
3. Peel and core the apples, discarding peel and cores. Then dice the apples.
4. Combine the cranberries, diced apples, diced onion, minced ginger, mustard seed, cardamom, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, vinegar, and the 1 ½ cups water in a large saucepan. Cover the mixture and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, still covered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from the heat.
5. Transfer the mixture into a bowl or other heat-proof container. Then, measure out 4 cups of the mixture. (If you have any left over, you can use it for something else.) Pour the measured quantity of the mixture back into the saucepan. Add the calcium water, then stir to combine.
6. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar and the pectin powder. Mix well and set aside.
7. Put the saucepan on the stove and bring the cranberry-apple mixture up to a rolling boil over high heat. Add the sugar-pectin mixture, then stir vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes, still over the highest heat, to dissolve pectin. Return the chutney to a boil, then remove from heat.
8. Remove hot jars from canner and fill jars with chutney, leaving ¼ inch of headspace. Remove trapped air bubbles, wipe rims with a damp cloth, and put on lids and screw bands, tightening bands only to “fingertip tight” (until resistance is met, and then just the tiniest bit more).
9. Place jars in the hot water, on the rack inside the canner. (Make sure jars are upright, not touching each other or the sides of the canner, and are covered with at least 1-2 inches of water). Place the lid on the canner, return the canner to a rolling boil, and boil for 10 minutes. (Add 1 minute additional processing time for every 1000 feet above sea level.)
10. Turn off heat and allow canner and jars to sit for 5 minutes. Then, remove jars from canner.
11. Allow jars to cool undisturbed for 12-24 hours. Then, confirm that jars have sealed. Remove screw bands from sealed jars, rinse off outside of jars if necessary, label jars, and store for later use.

[ Printable Recipe, HERE ]