Spiced Cranberry Jam

So easy and so delicious!

This jam makes a wonderful gift and even though Thanksgiving is behind us, it would be a perfect hostess gift at Christmas.

Be sure to scroll all the way to the end of this blog to see a fun idea for left-over mashed potatoes. I call it ‘Black Friday Turkey Dogs’.

Wisconsin is the largest producer of cranberries in the U.S. producing just over 5 million barrels annually. Massachusetts is #2 producing nearly 2 million barrels a year. That’s a lot of cranberries. We used to love walking the cranberry bogs in the fall when we lived in Plymouth. There’s something magical about a bog ready to harvest. 

I found this recipe online and did some tweaking. Making the jam is very similar to making cranberry sauce, but you add a bunch of seasonings not usually used in cranberry sauce and you blend it completely to create a very smooth texture. Cranberries contain lots of pectin, which helps naturally thicken the sauce or in this case the jam creating the perfect spreadable texture.

 Start by washing and picking over the cranberries. Toss out the ones that are completely un-ripened (yellow and hard, not red and juicy) and also toss the ones that have gone by.

Put 2 12-oz. bags of washed and cleaned cranberries in a large pot. Add all the ingredients and bring to a boil. Spices include: cinnamon; ground ginger; ground cloves; ground allspice; freshly ground black pepper; grated fresh ginger root and zest of one orange. For the liquid add 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice. To sweeten add 1 1/2 cups white sugar and 1 cup dark brown sugar.

Reduce heat and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes until the berries are popped.

Let cool slightly and then blend thoroughly with an emulsion blender.

Place in pint sized decorative jam jars and store in the refrigerator until serving or ‘gifting’. This makes about 3 1/2 pints of jam.

You can add the recipe to the jars if you like. I like this Spiced Cranberry jam so much that I made it a second time!

BLACK FRIDAY TURKEY DOGS

On the day after Thanksgiving we had lots of wonderful left-overs. We decided we wanted more turkey, but in a different form, so I pulled a couple of turkey dogs out of the freezer; added an egg and about 1/3 cup flour to 1 1/2 cups of left-over mashed potato and wrapped the dogs in the potato dough. Add more or less flour until you have a nice sticky consistency. Use your fingers to spread evenly over the dogs.

Fry the dogs in olive oil until nicely browned on all sides.

Since Black Friday these days starts weeks before Thanksgiving and continues long after, you can make these dogs any time you like and still call them ‘Black Friday Turkey Dogs’!

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Spiced Cranberry Jam

Sweet with a refreshingly tart cranberry flavor. All the different spices really add a unique and lovely flavor to this jam.

Ingredients

• 2 12 oz. Bags fresh cranberries
• 1 1/2 cups White sugar
• 1 cup Dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup Water
• 1/2 cup Freshly squeezed Orange Juice
• 1 Orange, zested
• 1 tsp. Ginger root; freshly grated (about 1 inch piece)
• 2 tsp. Ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. Ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. Ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp. Ground allspice
• 6 Grinds Fresh Black pepper

Instructions

• Combine all ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the berries are popped. Let cool slightly.
• Thoroughly blend the cranberries with an emulsion blender into desired consistency. Pour jam into glass pint sized jars. Cool until thickened and set; about 1 hour. Refrigerate until ready to use.