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Jamming with Cranberries |
In our family it’s a tradition to serve cranberry sauce with Thanksgiving dinner, we not only love it with dinner, it’s our favorite spread on a day-after-Thanksgiving turkey sandwich. During the Christmas holidays this tart fruit appears again when I love to prepare cranberry jam (very similar to cranberry sauce) except the jam cooks a little longer so it’s more like a jam than a sauce. It’s quick, a great food gift for my foodie friends and the pairing possibilities seem endless. I don’t go through the traditional preserving method that is meant for long term storage, I just place it in jars and refrigerate until I gift it or use it. Cranberry jam will last for about 2-3 weeks refrigerated. It’s a delicious accompaniment with pork and chicken or spoon over warm Brie, or for a quick, inexpensive and festive appetizer, spoon over a brick of cream cheese and garnish with toasted almonds. Nick loves to place a dollop over pancakes and then top them with warm maple syrup!
Cranberry Jam
Helpful to know: Be sure to grate the orange zest before you juice the orange.
One (16-ounce) bag fresh cranberries, rinsed
Juice from one orange
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon grated orange zest (from 1 orange)
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Place ingredients in a medium saucepan, bring mixture to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer, stirring frequently, until cranberries have softened and mixture is thickened, about 5-8 minutes. Allow to cool completely before refrigerating. Yield: About 3 cups.
