Christmas is coming and yes, I am getting fat (pre-Christmas diet going horribly wrong) but it also means you should start preparing for Christmas Day!
There are so many things you can do in advance and your cranberry sauce is definitely one of them – don’t go out and buy it – it’s very, very easy to make!! Not only is it easy, but there is a real satisfaction to boiling up these wonderful coloured berries and the aroma will make your house smell amazing.
Fresh cranberries are in the shops now, all in handy 300g packets and it’s up to you whether you want to go super easy, easy or slightly more complicated. Last year I showed how to make an easy cosmopolitan flavoured cranberry sauce ( https://kimdortonbroad.wordpress.com/tag/cranberry-sauce/) so this year, here are some variations.
Classic Cranberry and Orange Sauce
Ingredients
- 150g sugar
- Juice of 2 oranges (made up to 150 ml with water if not enough)
- Zest of oranges
- 300g fresh cranberries
- Yes, really…that’s all you need!
Method
- Add the sugar, orange juice and zest to a saucepan
- Over a low heat, gently dissolve the sugar and simmer for 2-3 minutes until it is clear
Add the cranberries and zest and bring to the boil (it looks and smells wonderful!)- Reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes
- Remove from the heat, cool and place in a bag in the freezer until the day before you need it.
Spiced Apple and Cranberry Jelly and Puree with Port and Brandy – these are 2 different types – more complicated but worth it – go on, get your jelly bags out!
Ingredients (makes about 3 jars, double up if you want to give as presents)
- 3 large or 6 small jam jars with lids
- Jelly bag (available from Lakeland)
- 500g Bramley apples
- 500g fresh or frozen cranberries
- 200ml port
- 100ml brandy
- 1 dessert spoon of cloves
- 2 small cinnamon stick
- 2 star anise,
- Zest and juice of 2 oranges
- 850ml water
- Jam sugar, preferably with pectin
Method
- Chop the apples. Do not peel or core them, but cut away any bruised parts.
- Put into a large, deep pan with the cranberries, orange juice and water, the port and brandy, cloves, cinnamon sticks, star anise, orange zest
- Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer for 25 minutes, stirring now and then. Do not crush the cranberries as this will make the jelly cloudy.
- Carefully pour the mixture into a clean jelly bag (available at Lakeland) suspended over a very large bowl, and leave to drip through until it stops. ( I did buy their stand/tripod thing but found it so difficult to assemble that I prefer I tie mine with string on to the the clothers horse and leave overnight.
- Don’t be tempted to squeeze the bag as this will make the jelly cloudy.
- Pour the juice in to a measuring jug and measure the volume, keeping the bag containing the pulp aside to use later for another variation on cranberry sauce
- Weigh out the jam sugar, allowing 450g jam sugar to every 600ml juice, and set aside. ( I got 900ml of juice and used 675g jam sugar)
- Wash and rinse some jars with lids and sterilise them in the oven at 160°C/fan140°C/gas 4 whilst you’re making the jelly
- Pour the juice into a large pan, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes to concentrate the flavour, skimming off any scum as it collects on the surface.
- Add the sugar and stir until it has dissolved, then bring back to the boil and boil rapidly for about 10 minutes (If you are passionate about a very clear jelly, skim off all the scum as you go)
- After 10 minutes, test the jelly by pouring a little onto the cold saucer If it wrinkles, then it’s ready.
- Take the pan off the heat, leave to settle and skim off any scum from the surface and after 5 minutes ladle in to hot jars
Cover with waxed discs and lids and keep in the fridge once opened and use within 3 months. They do look so beautiful they make lovely Christmas presents, very good with Boxing Day leftovers.
…and then there’s more
There are 2 choices here, you can either chuck all the pulp in the bin and just stick with the jelly, but if like me, you hate waste, then you can make a delicious spiced puree which is a lot less sweet than the jelly and some people actually prefer! However, it is time consuming as you will need to push the pulp through a sieve and that can take 15 minutes. So, for the hardier amongst you …..
- Push as much of the pulp through the sieve as possible in to a pan until you have a saucepan full of beautiful pink puree
- Add 150g of sugar (or more or less dependent on your taste) and return to the heat and bring to the boil
- Reduce the heat and stir for 5 minutes
- This won’t set like your lovely jelly and needs to be kept in the fridge and eaten within 3 days, but does also freeze extremely well.
The Bombay Boys 