Recipe Spicy Cranberry Jam

[The Late Night Gourmet]

On the question of whether this is a dessert-type thing or a sauce, I have to point to its likely usage. This might be something you'd put between two pieces of bread with peanut butter, but more likely not. The profile is more spicy than sweet, which was quite intentional.

Ingredients

12 ounces fresh Michigan cranberries
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 lemon, juiced and zested
2 jalapeno peppers, diced, seeds and membrane included
1 tablespoon dried fruit pectin

Directions

1. Heat cranberries, cider, and sugar in a pot on medium temperature for 10 minutes or until cranberries are soft.

2. Transfer to a stand-up blender or use an immersion blender to smooth out the cranberries a bit. Leave them a little but chunky.

3. Add lemon juice, lemon zest, and diced peppers. Stir thoroughly, and heat for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Stir in dried fruit pectin and heat for another minute, stirring frequently.

5. Add hot water to a jar, then dump out the water. This will keep the jar from cracking. Pour jam into the jar and seal tightly. Allow to cool a bit on the counter, then place in refrigerator to chill.

6. Serve on savory sandwiches (maybe leftover turkey sandwiches) or on crackers.

 

[TastyReuben]

I don't make a lot of jams or relishes, except when they're meant to be eaten immediately, so how long would you think something like that would keep?

 

[Morning Glory]

This jam looks so vibrant and delicious - perfect with cheese I'd think. One thing - cranberries have a very high pectin content so probably don't need added pectin. Cranberries are a great ingredient to work with from that point of view.

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

This jam looks so vibrant and delicious - perfect with cheese I'd think. One thing - cranberries have a very high pectin content so probably don't need added pectin. Cranberries are a great ingredient to work with from that point of view.

Ah-ha...this explains why I saw many cranberry jelly recipes that didn't add pectin. What I have is thick, but not overly so. I like the consistency, but it's good to know that anyone can make this without special ingredients.

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

I don't make a lot of jams or relishes, except when they're meant to be eaten immediately, so how long would you think something like that would keep?

I once made a serrano pepper jelly that lasted for months (refrigerated) without a drop off in flavor. Capsaicin is a natural preservative: the hotter the pepper, the more scared bacteria becomes (my scientific explanation for how this works). The habanero jelly I made lasted even longer.

I don't tend to make jellies or jams as desert-type items, either. But, here's a serving suggestion of how I used it with a panini today.