1 1/2 cups thinly sliced, halved peeled red onions
1/2 cup dried cranberries finely chopped
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 package powdered pectin
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
3 cups apple juice
4 cups sugar

I have 2 questions:

1. Can I substitute frozen cranberries for the dried cranberries without compromising safety? (I guess the question then is the PH of dried and frozen cranberries the same)?

2. Can I use dried orange zest in place of the 2 teaspoon of fresh zest, again without compromising safety?

Thanks!

You've got the acid covered with the vinegar and cranberries, and cranberries have a lot of pectin, but the problem is you can't follow this recipe exactly and just leave out the pectin b/c it may not gel enough with all that liquid (apple juice). You also can't sub fresh/frozen cranberries in exact same measurement for dried, b/c obviously you'd get a lot more volume from reconstituted dried cranberries than from frozen.

Let's look for another approved recipe with onions and cranberries if you really want the onion. Of course, if you are OK with leaving that out, then you can make cranberry sauce/jam/jelly with just cranberries, water and sugar (and orange zest if you want)!

Ellie Topp's Caramelized Red Onion Relish

2 large red onions, peeled
1/4C firmly packed light brown sugar
1C dry red wine
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/8 tsp each salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Slice the onions into very thin slices. Combine onions and sugar in a heavy non-stick skillet. Cook, uncovered, over medium-high heat for about 25 minutes or until onions turn golden and start to caramelize, stirring frequently.

2. Stir in wine and vinegar. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low and cook for about 15 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated, stirring frequently.

3. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon into a wide-mouthed jar and cool briefly.

Remove hot (half pint or smaller) jars from canner and ladle relish to within 1/2" of rim. Process 10 minutes.

Makes 2 cups

That being said, the dried cranberries will absorb more liquid than the frozen ones (which will add juice to the mixture) so the overall volume will be somewhat different, but otherwise you can add them if you wish.

What I don't understand about this recipe is all the apple juice. Why not use at least half cranberry juice? I would think the result might be more interesting.

You can sub dried orange for fresh, no problem, though again, the flavors will be slightly different and you may want to use a bit less. Alternatively, instead of orange you could use lemon, which might be nice if you stick with the apple juice.

Carol

I did make the Red Onion Cranberry marmelade with the substitutions and it appears to be setting just fine, and from what I can tell from licking a spoon or two it is tasty!

I of course could not get the onion slices to stop floating to the top...but other than that it seems to be working. I am ihnterested in trying it again with cranberry juice, good idea carol.

I do have some frozen cranberries and am looking for possible jam combinations, maybe apple cranberry next!

Thanks!

Another option is to cook partially, allow the mixture to rest overnight (remember there's plenty of vinegar and sugar in there to alleviate any concerns) so the onions equalize, then return the mixture to the boil and finish cooking.

If you refrigerate the marmalade during this resting period, cover with a tea towel not a lid to avoid returning liquid through condensation. That would just increase the time and risk of over-cooking.

This is also true of preserves like strawberry where the fruit has a tendency to float.

Carol