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ottawapepper

Canning Chile Cranberry Sauce

ottawapepper
16 years ago

Hello,

A member of the Hot Pepper Forum, djcorrosive, posted a recipe for Chile Cranberry Sauce that I really like (link to post below).

IÂm looking for opinions / advice on whether or not it would can well. HereÂs a copy of the recipe:

12oz fresh cranberries

Zest of 1 orange

Juice from 2 oranges (or 1 cup of OJ from the store if you must, but you'll miss the taste from the zest)

3 T tequila

1/2 cup sugar

1-5 (depending on taste and size) chiles (your choice) finely chopped

Set chiles aside. Combine all remaining ingredients in a large pot. Gradually bring to a boil stirring occasionally. When the berries start poppin' add the chiles and cook for 5 mins stirring often. If it's too thick for your liking, add a little more water. Remove from heat, place in container and chill, the longer the better, up to 4-5 days in advance. Ridiculously good on everything, especially leftover turkey sandwiches!

Zappy17 posted a Cranberry Pear Lemon jam canning recipe on this forum:

4 large pears, peeled, cored, & diced

3 cups coarsely chopped cranberries

1/2 cup water

2 tsp grated lemon rind

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

1. Combine pears, cranberries, water, and lemon rind. Bring to a boil over high heat, cover, reduce heat and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

2. Gradually add lemon juice and sugar, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil rapidly, uncovered, until mixture will form a gel, about 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.

3. Ladle into hot jars and process for 10 minutes.

IÂm trying to figure out how to omit the pears from zappy17Âs and come up with something close to the original recipe.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Bill

Here is a link that might be useful: Original post

Comments (17)

  • love2troll
    16 years ago

    > Zappy17 posted a Cranberry Pear Lemon jam canning recipe on this forum:

    Is that Zappy a hoot or what!!

    Bill in Ottawa,

    Do you know Janice in Ottawa?

    Sorry that I don't have an answer to your question. I do have a question of my own though... are Craisins the same thing as dried cranberries? Or must they be dried so will powder when smacked with hammer?

    jt

  • zabby17
    16 years ago

    Bill,

    I can't see any reason why that couldn't be canned; it is v. similar to recipes for cranberry chutney, jelly, etc. Unless you are talking about huge bell-type peppers, that amount of low-acid ingredient shouldn't be worrisome with fruit and alchohol.

    See the thread about canning cranberries --- also the one about canning caramelized onions, which ends up with some recipes for cranberry-pepper jellies.

    jt,
    Craisins are a commercial brand of sweetened dried cranberries.

    Zabby
    (with two b's, actually --- it is actually a short form for EliZABeth...)

  • ottawapepper
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Zabby,

    I apologize on two counts. First I misspelled your name and second I did not catch your earlier Cran-Jalapeno post that pretty much answered my question. I was planning on using a few Habanero peppers. Thanks for your response.

    jt, sorry I don't personnally know anyone named Janice.

    Bill

  • zabby17
    16 years ago

    No problem, Bill --- I kind of like the idea of being "Zappy" --- sounds like someone with a lot of energy and an electric personality! ;-)

    Happy cranberry-ing, and please let us know how your canning adventures go.

    Z

  • ottawapepper
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Success!

    I started off with MellyÂs variation of Cran-Jalapeno Jelly and tweaked it a bit (by choice and by necessity). I decided to go with a tried recipe as a base rather than use the untested one I originally posted.

    I didnÂt want a result that was too sweet so I went for the unsweetened juice. Unfortunately all I could find was Ocean SprayÂs unsweetened Cranberry & Grape juice (thus the necessity part).

    Basically; I split the 1 1/2 cup of cider vinegar 50/50 with regular white vinegar to get a lighter colour. I omitted red bell pepper and used 1/2 cup of habanero pepper and 1/2 cup red onion. I bumped up the juice from 1 1/2 to 2 cups to make up the volume for the omitted bell peppers and used an extra 1/4 cup of fresh cranberries (I chopped a few too many and didnÂt want to waist them).

    Well, I cracked a jar this morning and spread a good amount on an English muffin WOW!!! It turned out even better than I expected. It had a good amount of heat and had a real tanginess to it. This one is a definite keeper (even using the cranberry / grape juice).

    I got stuck in a snow drift in the driveway this morning so I took a snow day today. IÂm going to make another batch because I know this one wonÂt last.

    Zebby, thanks for the response and encouragement.

    Melly, thanks for sharing your original recipe.

    Bill

    HereÂs my variation:

    Habanero Cranberry Jelly

    3/4 cup cider vinegar
    3/4 cup white vinegar
    2 cups 100% unsweetened cranberry juice
    1/2 cup finely diced habanero pepper
    1/2 cup finely diced red onion
    1 3/4 cups fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped
    1 pkg liquid pectin
    5 cups sugar

  • ksrogers
    16 years ago

    Craisins are sweetened cranberries. They cut the berries in half and deseed them, then spray on a sugar water syrup. They get dried in a big tumbling drum. The end result isn't dry like hard, solid rocks, but more like soft raisins. There are natural oils and enzymes that help keep the dried fruits a bit soft. If you wanted a hard dried fruit, freeze drying would be the choice. Freeze drying removes every single trace of moisture, which makes for a harder product. Now would be a great time to buy cranberries on sale and freeze them for use later.

  • zabby17
    16 years ago

    Bill,

    Sounds great!

    I made mine last night too.

    Used Melly's recipe with 2 cups pure cran juice, 7/8 cup red wine vinegar, and 1/8 cup balsamic for extra flavour.

    For the peppers put in 1 cup jalapenos and 1/2 cup sweet pepper (this is for gifts so I wanted it mild). No onion.

    Used liquid pectin, stirred in at the end and boiled one minute.

    I am very pleased with it; the hot-sweet-sour blend is lovely, though I might use a bit less vinegar still next time (maybe white wine and white balsamic for more flavour-to-sour ratio and lighter colour). It's actually even milder than I'd expected; I won't mess with anything LESS hot than a jalapeno in future.

    I got a really big batch, too -- there are 13 half-cup jars on my counter!

    Cheers,

    Zippity Doo Dah

  • ottawapepper
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    I just realized that I didnÂt include the procedure I used or the yield when I posted the ingredients earlier.

    IÂll try this one more time incase anyone wants to use it.

    Habanero Cranberry Jelly

    Ingredients:
    3/4 cup cider vinegar
    3/4 cup white vinegar
    2 cups 100% unsweetened cranberry juice
    1/2 cup finely diced habanero pepper
    1/2 cup finely diced red onion
    1 3/4 cups fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped
    1 pkg liquid pectin
    5 cups sugar

    Procedure:
    Finely dice peppers and onion and coarsely chop cranberries
    In a large sauce pan, combine cranberries, pepper, onion, vinegars, and juice
    Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low
    Simmer 15 Â 20 minutes to allow flavors to blend and to soften up cranberries
    Add sugar and return to a hard boil for 1 minute
    Remove from heat and stir liquid pectin in well
    Add jelly to hot sterilized jars
    Wipe rim of jars with a clean damp towel
    Position lids as per usual instructions
    Process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes
    Remove jars and allow them to cool
    During the cooling, periodically "gently" invert jars to distribute solids.

    Yield 7 or 8 - 250ml (1 cup) jars

    (Zeppy, did another batch today... now I have 15 jars for personal use and giifting)

  • zabby17
    16 years ago

    Today I'm moving on to cinnamon apple cider jelly. (I know, Bill wonders why bother with anything that doesn't have hot peppers in it.... ;-) )

    Zobby

  • ottawapepper
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    LOL, ok you caught my reference to Zeppy in my last post and now you're signing as Zoppy. I can't keep up!

    Cinnamon apple cider jelly sounds great (wonderful if you add a few Jamaican Hot Yellow peppers!!!) LOL

    What recipe are you using for the cider jelly?

    Bill

  • ottawapepper
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Dam, did it again. Should have typed Zobby. Don't know why I get the p's and b's mixed up... sniffing too much vinegar I guess.

  • mellyofthesouth
    16 years ago

    Zabby,

    I looked at my notes again and I actually used 1/2 cup vinegar, 1/2 cup water, and 2 cups juice in that last batch. That was 1/2 cup vinegar for the 1 1/2 cups low acid ingredients. It should be ok considering that all the cranberry stuff is quite acid.

    Melly

  • mellyofthesouth
    16 years ago

    I just wanted to say that I enjoy seeing how the recipe gets customized. I also want to say that my recipe is a 'tried' one only in the sense that I had made it, it jelled, and tasted good to me. It has not been tested for safety.
    Melly

  • msafirstein
    16 years ago

    Okay I can't seem to locate Melly's original recipe for Cran-Jalapeno Jelly and I've searched every which way.

    Could someone please repost the recipe or send me in the correct direction to the original post.

    Sorry to be a pest.

    Michelle

  • ottawapepper
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Michelle,

    You're not being a pest at all. I found it in the Canning caramelized onions post a little further down on this page (see link below at the Nov 16 posting date).

    Cranberry Pepper Jelly
    1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
    1 1/2 cups 100% unsweetened cranberry juice
    1 1/2 cups total a combination of finely diced jalapeno peppers, bell peppers, and red onions
    1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped
    1 pkg powdered pectin
    5 cups sugar

    Melly did not post the procedure but I'm sure the one I posted above for my variation would work fine.

    I'm sure if Melly sees this post she'll reply.

    Bill

    Here is a link that might be useful: Canning caramelized onions

  • msafirstein
    16 years ago

    Thanks Bill!! I did every search I could think of and of course not Cranberry PEPPER Jelly!

    I like to save the original recipe and then put under NOTES the variations.

    Michelle

  • zabby17
    16 years ago

    Thanks, Michelle!

    I was thinking it was mean of us to have hidden such a lovely recipe in such an unlikely thread (who would look for cranberry-pepper recipes in a caramelized onion thread?)

    Zabby, who's going to serve a bit of Melly's recipe as a relish on the side to add some zing to a purcased chicken pie tonight...

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