Canning cranberries

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blissful

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Mar 25, 2008
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We were able to get bags of cranberries at a reduced price. Usually, this happens after the holidays. It looks like the fresh cranberries were starting to get soft. I picked through them and most of them were firm.

Another glut of cranberries happens in the beginning of January and that is when I do my usual cranberry canning.

For my usual canning, I make it for me, do not puree it or remove skins, add very little sugar. I do this so I can eat it with my daily oatmeal or 9 grain flakes and I sweeten it if it needs it when I eat.

This batch however I added more sugar and removed skins, so it was pureed. I used a mill after cooking the cranberries but before adding sugar and boiling again. Mr Bliss only likes the jelly or Gel, or the sweetened can of cranberry 'sauce' bought at the store. It comes out of the can in one piece. I was trying to replicate that for him on this batch.
6 12-oz bags of fresh or frozen cranberries
1 and 1/2 cups sugar
enough water to cook the cranberries and more if needed to thin it out. I think I used about 4 cups but I didn't measure.
The sauce was smooth and spoonable.
I put it in 8-oz jars, 1/4th inch headspace, metal lids, then waterbath canned for 15 minutes at boiling. 10 jars, all of them sealed.

When I was making them I asked mr bliss to taste the sauce to make sure it was sweet enough and he was pleased after we got to 1 and 1/2 cups sugar. The 8-oz jars are straight sided and it should be easy to get it to slide out of the jar for serving.

Canning for low-sugar, which in my opinion should be the default is unfortunately called canning for 'special diets'. That's how commercialization has affected our foods. https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/general/special_diets.html
Each jar has 1.05 ounces of sugar. If each jar is 3 servings, then that is 2 teaspoons sugar/serving. For mr bliss that is sweet enough. For me, it's a little overly sweet from what I'm used to.
 
Last year I made honey fermented cranberries. They are wonderful. DH, who really dislikes cranberries, likes them. They are not very sweet. Here's the recipe: Honey Fermented Spiced Cranberries. The instructions are on the website of the original author, but she updated the page and they aren't very detailed anymore. If you are interested, I can PM you the "old instructions", the detailed ones that she had on that page before.
 
Do the cranberries ( like currants) have the ability to gel up by themselves. ( no pectin added) ?
Yes, they are VERY high in pectin. Even when I thinned out the milled sauce and sugar, it was fairly thick and then became thicker when it cooled. It's no wonder how the store-bought cranberry 'gel' is a gel, and nothing is added to thicken it.

I made some plum sauce yesterday and had I thought of it, I could have added some cranberry gel, to give it a little more tangy flavor. It's such a pretty sauce. (yes how weird that sounds) It would make a nice glaze on a ham, or a cake, or in a frosting, bright red.
 
As I am sure you are aware taxy, adding the detailed instructions in your own words is perfectly acceptable.
Yup, and I thought about it. But, I'll wait until I have done it at least one more time before taking the time to write the instructions out.
 
I have about 3 cups of cranberries that I harvest. last year and this year. I never got around to doing anything with them. They're still in the freezer. Maybe this weekend ill get creative
 
@larry_stewart I'm the one in the house that likes the cranberries with very little sugar. I like tangy tastes.
Other options for cranberries.
Jam or Jelly (for thanksgiving turkey or topping a pumpkin pie)
The pumpkin cranberry combo is so good.
Taxlady's fermented cranberries.
Dehydrated cranberries or if sweetened then craisins.
(I've used dehydrated cranberries in smoothies to give them a tangy edge and pink color.) (craisins made it into my Christmas fruitcake this year.)
A lot of people make a delicious cranberry relish with raw cranberries and oranges....I don't have a recipe for that.
Cranberries soaked in vodka with sugar and left for a few months to make a liqueur--nice color, tangy.
 
few year back I toured a cranberry bog up near Cape Cod and went cranberry picking . We came home with gallons and gallons oof cranberries ( luckily they freeze well. I made a cranberry vinegar which came out really well. Ive made cranberry relish ( with orange, pineapple and pecans). It came our really good. I even started snacking on them raw. They're miserable little fruits, but I kinda like them raw. Tart enough to grimaced wince, but not enough to spit out.
 
few year back I toured a cranberry bog up near Cape Cod and went cranberry picking . We came home with gallons and gallons oof cranberries ( luckily they freeze well. I made a cranberry vinegar which came out really well. Ive made cranberry relish ( with orange, pineapple and pecans). It came our really good. I even started snacking on them raw. They're miserable little fruits, but I kinda like them raw. Tart enough to grimaced wince, but not enough to spit out.
That is a great description of cranberries. Have you ever eaten raw chokecherries? They are, um, interesting.
 
I've dont. think I have tasted Chokecherries. When I looked it up, they look similar to ' autumn olives' (Which I have eaten) but apparently are different .
I haven't had them in decades, but I often ate them when I went for walks, back when I lived "in the bush". From memory: They have cherry flavour. They are slightly sweet, with a bit of tart. They are astringent. Your mouth will feel as though you have been licking cotton balls. Judging from the quantity of cherry pits in the bear scats I saw, bears are very fond of them. Well, they eat a lot of them in any case.
 
What are autumn olives like?
Haven't had them in awhile. Its like a shrub that is very common here. You see hem on the sides of the highways. I never knew what they were (Or that they were. edible for humans). until I took a hike with a guy who pointed. out all the edible plants. on the hike.

They had. a hint of sweetness, but also that astringent quality too. Once I knew what they were, I would always snack on them when I go on bike rides. Definitely wouldn't say they were great ( or even. good), but easy to find and free, so why not.
 
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