Christmas Cranberries

The Editor -

Cranberry sauce is a must on any Christmas dinner table and luckily, it couldn't be easier to make!

In this Orange and Cranberry sauce recipe, two classic Christmas flavours have been used. Delicious served along your festive lunch.

You will need to leave 2 hours for the cranberry sauce to chill.

What's the difference between cranberry sauce and cranberry jelly?

This comes down to pectin. Pectin is a fibre that's found in the cell walls of fruit (some fruits have higher pectin levels than others). When these cell walls are broken down, the pectin is released, forming a gel like substance. This occurs when your cranberries are cooked down for a long length of time and when paired with sugar and acid. So, put simply, cranberry jelly is cranberry sauce that is cooked down for longer, with more sugar and acid added!

Ingredients

One orange
350g fresh or frozen cranberries
175g caster sugar
150ml red wine
150ml fresh orange juice

Directions

Finely grate the orange rind; squeeze the juice. Set the rind aside. Place cranberries, sugar, wine and orange juices in a pan; bring to the boil. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.

Remove and reserve half the cranberries. Blend the remainder of the sauce until smooth (If you prefer a chunkier sauce, then there's no need to blend.

Mix with the reserved cranberries and orange rind. Cool, cover and chill for up to two days. Serve cold.

Flavourings

Any of your favourite spices, booze and citrus fruits can be added to your cranberry sauce. Here are some suggestions, but get creative with whatever combination you fancy!

Spices:
• Cardamom
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Chinese Five Spice
Booze:
• Triple Sec
• Bourbon
• Rum
• Vodka
• Gin
• Campari
Citrus:
• Grapefruit (more sugar will need to be added to balance out the bitterness if this is used)
• Lemon (more sugar will need to be added to balance out the bitterness if this is used)
• Blood Orange

Relieve some of the workload on the big day by making you cranberry sauce ahead of Christmas. Your cooled cranberry sauce can be frozen for up to three months and defrosted in the fridge over Christmas Eve night.