Fiber Fool

Given that 1) tomorrow is the big turkey day, 2) I have pictures for my cranberry sauce which I’m recycling and 3) I’m up to my ears in final tweaks of the first installment of the e-book I thought I’d share my cranberry sauce recipe. You know, on the off chance that you don’t already have your menu planned and groceries bought for the big day. I should note that the pics show a half batch. I went small since it will be just Drew and I.

This is so simple. You just dump the ingredients in, turn on the heat, cover and in a bit turn the heat off. It requires very little attention and nearly takes care of itself. If you accidentally overcook it, you’ll just a get a more homogeneous jam as the skins cook down and pectin in the cranberries gets released. In fact, if you prefer more of a “cranberry” jelly just cook it longer. Using apple juice in place of the orange juice will also help make a thicker jelly or jam consistency.

Cranberry Orange Sauce

yields 3-4 cups
Ingredients

• 2 - 12 oz bags of cranberries, frozen works if fresh are not available but may result is slightly less chunky sauce
• 2 oranges, zest and juice
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 inch / 2.5 cm hunk of ginger, optional

Directions
Place all the ingredients into a 2 qt sauce pan and stir. Cover place over medium heat. Let the sauce cook until most of the cranberries have burst, about 10-20 minutes depending upon your stovetop. Turn off the heat and let cool slightly. It will thicken as it cools. It can be made ahead and refrigerated too.

If you opt for the ginger you’ll get a more subtle, underlying warmth if you place it in whole and remove before serving. If you want a bit more forward and spicy hint of ginger, grate it on a microplane.

There are a multitude of adaptations you can make. Like I mentioned above, apple juice will thicken the sauce and also sweeten it a bit more than the orange. For an even tarter sauce you can use other citrus juices like lemon, lime or even grapefruit for a unique twist. Carole commented on Monday’s post about a recipe that calls for pomegranate juice which I bet is great. You could use brown sugar for a bit richer sweetness or local honey would be interesting. Balsamic vinegar could be interesting too.

Before cranberries are out of season again I think I’m going to have a try a few chutney recipes. Do you have any favorite cranberry chutney recipes?