Thanksgiving Cranberry Recipes

Two cranberry recipes for Thanksgiving menus. Cranberry Chutney is my personal favorite, thick with cranberries, dried fruit and nuts, deepened with a splash of brandy. Cranberry Orange Relish is that old-fashioned family favorite, cranberries ground with a whole orange, sweetened with sugar and in my contemporary version, brightened with a little fresh ginger.

Cranberry Chutney, good with turkey or just by the spoonful.
Cranberry Orange Relish with Fresh Ginger, especially icy-good when ground at the last minute with frozen cranberries.

Thanksgiving tables call out for cranberries, especially when turkey is the main course. While canned cranberry sauces are easy, a few simple recipes can make the difference between 'convenient' and 'delicious and convenient'.

For Thanksgiving this year, consider serving a trio of cranberry condiments. For the traditionalists in the family, the first choice is your home’s customary cranberry dish, whatever it is.

Then add a contemporary version of an old favorite, CRANBERRY ORANGE RELISH. While the relish can be made in advance, it’s quite special when made at the very last minute with frozen cranberries. The result is an icy froth rich with bright ginger. This was discovered by accident awhile back but it’s so good that now I make it only when the dish can be served right away.

CRANBERRY CHUTNEY, on the other hand, should be made at least a few hours in advance so the rich flavors have the chance to meld. It keeps in the fridge for several weeks and makes a perfect gift for teachers, neighbors and friends.

RECIPE for CRANBERRY ORANGE RELISH with FRESH GINGER

In a food processor, chop 2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger and an orange, including the rind. Add 12 ounces frozen cranberries and 3/4 cup sugar. Pulse until chopped fine and serve immediately. (Photo above.)
Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food writer Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. What’s the favorite cranberry concoction at your house? Share your recipe via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. If you like these Kitchen Parade recipes, consider a free e-mail subscription. Once or twice a week when a new recipe is published, you'll be notified via e-mail. This column was published in print in 2002 and published online for the first time in 2007.

RECIPE for CRANBERRY CHUTNEY

'My' traditional Thanksgiving cranberry
Makes 4 cups
Hands-on time: 20 minutes
Total preparation time: 20 minutes
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 12 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries (or 16 ounces if you prefer more cranberry taste)
  • 1/2 cup golden raisins
  • 1/2 cup pecan pieces
  • 1 cup dried apricots, diced (or other diced dried fruit)
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated (about 1/2 knob), optional
  • 2 tablespoons brandy, dark rum or other spirit, optional

Place sugar and water in a heavy four-quart kettle and bring to a boil. (You can double the recipe in this size kettle but a 1-1/2 quart saucepan is too small for even one batch.)

Meanwhile, rinse berries, removing any bruised or bad berries. Add berries to syrup and return to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and let simmer until berries begin to pop. Add remaining ingredients except spirits and simmer for 5 – 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add spirits and simmer another 1 - 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool before serving or storing.

Can be made ahead of time, keeps for several weeks. Makes a great hostess gift.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE (How many calories are in Cranberry Chutney? How many Weight Watchers points are in Cranberry Chutney?) Per 1/4 cup: 102 Calories; 1g Protein; 3g Tot Fat; 0g Sat Fat; 19g Carb; 2g Fiber; 5mg Sodium; 0mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 2 points

More Thanksgiving Recipes

(hover for a description, click a photo for a recipe)
Squash Puff Turnip Puff Turkey Wild Rice Casserole

a growing collection of
~ Thanksgiving vegetable recipes ~
at my food blog, A Veggie Venture

More Cranberry Recipes

(hover for a description, click a photo for a recipe)
Pork Tenderloin with Balsamic Cranberry Sauce Cranberry-Mac Morsels Cranberry Pudding with Butter Sauce

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~ Cranberry Orange Relish with Fresh Ginger ~





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Your Comments:

Alanna -- I've been making a delicious Cranberry Chutney ever since my husband worked for Ocean Spray cranberries in the mid-1990s. Perhaps I'm mistaken, but doesn't a true chutney have to have some vinegar in it?

Anyway, here is the Ocean Spray recipe, and it's foolproof!
Heidi

Cranberry Chutney

1 - 16 oz. can Ocean Spray Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce
1/2 c. golden raisins
1/2 c.+ 2 T diced and peeled apple
1/4 c.+ 2 T sugar
1/4 c. + 2 T vinegar (I use rice vinegar - it's milder)
1/8 teas. allspice
1/8 teas. ginger (powdered)
1/8 teas. cinnamon
Dash of ground cloves
Juice of 1/2 lime

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, uncovered, until apples are tender and sauce has thickened, about 30 minutes. Makes 2 1/2 cups. Keeps in fridge about 2-3 weeks. Great with roasted fowl or pork, and on turkey sandwiches, too. Makes a great hostess gift. ENJOY!
Anonymous Anonymous on 10/28/2007
 
Hi Heidi ~ Thanks for your recipe!

As for whether chutney 'officially requires' vinegar, you may well be right. This is such a favorite old recipe that it's one of the very first recipes published in Kitchen Parade, when I was still learning my way around food writing and kept recipes' titles as I found them. I'm still learning, of course, so thanks for adding this tidbit!
Blogger Alanna on 10/29/2007
 
I've got cranberries in my freezer, picked by myself :) Thank you for a recipe - and may I just add that this is a gorgeous serving bowl!!!
Blogger Pille on 11/02/2007
 
I just sent my newsletter readers a cranberry chutney recipe I've been making forever -- it's based on one from a little book called Condiments! by Jay Solomon. I love chutney, because it's more tart and complex than cranberry sauce.
Blogger Lydia on 11/02/2007
 
If I had to pick only one food to eat at Thanksgiving, it might be the cranberry chutney. I am crazy for it. This recipe with raisins and pecans is fabulous. I make one with dried cherries and walnuts last year. Looks like I'll have to make two this year.
Blogger Susan on 11/02/2007
 
Pille ~ What, you mean cranberries don't grow in plastic bags? Amazing! And thanks for noticing the bowl. It's a piece by Raymond Loewy, the famous modern designer from the 1950s.

Lydia ~ Ah yes, this is a 'forever' recipe for me too. Last year I broke down and tried something new, but as a third option!

Susan ~ Really! I wonder how many more there are like you that choose cranberry first.
Blogger Alanna on 11/02/2007
 
I do so love cranberries...more and more each year! Because I can't get them here... There's a small red berries that some people call 'cranberries' but .... nope~!
Last year I was in MN for Christmas and pigged out on them - it was wonderful! I'll enjoy them, vicariously, through your recipes!
Blogger katiez on 11/03/2007
 
My favorite cranberry chutney is from Madhur Jaffrey - I heard it on an NPR show around Thanksgiving more than a decade ago, and have made it every year since! (often for Thanksgiving AND Christmas, or any other time we have turkey!) I might have to try yours as well, because I'm always looking for ways to use up pecans. You can see the Jaffrey recipe at this NPR page (along with that infamous Mama Stamberg one):

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=844268

and here's where I blogged about it last year:
http://jonskifarms.wordpress.com/2006/11/25/mashed-potatoes-and-cranberry-chutney/
Anonymous Tricia on 11/04/2007
 
I used to make a wonderful cranberry-pear-nut chutney that used curry powder as one of the spices. Anyone have such a recipe; mine is lost.

Also, Allana, where are you from? My mother is a Kellogg too (originally from Michigan but far distant from those folks now)
Blogger Teacher Jan on 10/26/2008
 
Hi Jan ~ Good luck with your recipe search, I'll keep my eyes peeled. If your mother's a Kellogg, we're related! All the Kelloggs descend from three brothers and a cousin who came to North America in the 1600s. If your mother doesn't know, there are amazing books of family genealogy going back even further. E-mail me and I'll send you the info.
Blogger Alanna on 10/26/2008