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Monday, December 07, 2009

It's Holiday Time...or How to Make Cranberry Relish...



I was talking with my daughter this morning. This is what she wants for Christmas... ;o)

Cranberry Orange Relish

Gather ingredients...

1 pkg. fresh cranberries
1 medium orange
1/2 stick cinnamon
1 cup sugar








Because I wanted to can this batch, I placed 3
half pint jars in water to cover and the lids in water and placed both on the stove to bring to a boil. There is no need to boil the screw caps since they will not be in contact with the food or the lip of the jar. (If you have never canned fresh fruit, I would suggest you go here
to learn how to do home canning.)








Wash the cranberries and pick out any soft or bad ones. Pick the stems. Wash the orange with a veggie wash. Place the cinnamon in a medium saucepan. I used navel oranges so I cut the pithy ends off my orange. Cut the orange into quarters. Place 1/2 the orange and 1/2 the cranberries into a blender or food processor and grind. Empty into your saucepan and repeat with the other half. Add the sugar and stir to mix well.









Place on medium heat and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Meanwhile, the jars have been boiling and sterilizing while relish has been prepared.








Using a pair of tongs, pick up one jar and pour the water out. Sit as closely to your cooking relish as possible and using a metal spoon ladle the relish into the sterilized jars. Try not to get any on the lip of the jar as this will stop the lid from sealing. If you do get some on the lip, use a damp cloth to wipe the rim of the jar. Using tongs, dip a lid out of the boiling water and place on jar. Place the screw cap on the jar and tighten just finger tip tight...not screwed on hard.






Since I know these will be used within the next 2 weeks, I placed these back in the same boiling water for a 10 minute boiling hot water bath. If I wanted to keep these for a year, I would use a much bigger hot water bath pan and the water MUST cover the jars at least an inch. The hot water bath is make sure the heat inside the center of the jar reaches high enough temperature and maintains it long enough to kill any lingering bacteria.






After the 10 minute hot water bath the relish is removed from the hot water using the tongs and is wiped with a clean dishtowel. They are placed on a clean dishtowel to cool for several hours or overnight. The lids should pop and form a suction. When pressed in the center the lids should not give any... If it does move up or down when pressed, then the seal has not sealed well enough and you should place in the refrigerator and use within a week or so.


This recipe can be used (without the cinnamon) as a fresh relish and requires NO Cooking... if you want to make it the day of or the day before it is eaten. To keep for any length of time it should be cooked and/or canned.

If you try this, please use caution since you will be dealing with very hot, boiling liquids.

I do so love this stuff..lol This is the second batch I have made since before Thanksgiving. I hope you enjoy this little tute... Daughter mine... ;o)

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