Cranberries mean the holiday season. For Americans they are a huge part of their Thanksgiving dinner and for us Brits they are a big deal on the Christmas platter.
Turkey wouldn’t be complete without its side-kick cranberry. It’s a bit like cheese and pickle, salt and pepper, or peas and carrots as good old Forrest Gump used to say. You need this Sugar Free Cranberry Relish.
Cranberries
I’ve shared cranberry recipes in the past, with my cranberry curd and lately my cranberry and apricot relish, this time I thought I’d ring the changes a wee bit and go a tad healthier with my Sugar Free Cranberry Relish.
I’m not trying to abstain from sugar entirely and go all out sugar free recipes these days, just thought that popping a few in there here and there as I work them out is a good way to go. It’s helping me and hopefully a few of you too, to cut the white grainy stuff (and I mean sugar here folks, nothing more sinister than that!) from the diet now and then. We get the treats with the sweetness but not from chemically refined sugar, from nature’s own sweetness instead.
So here is my Sugar Free Cranberry Relish. She is a colourful little number, bright and vibrant, easy on the eye and the tummy and oh so easy to make. She is tasty and sweet but a wee bit tart too, and she is naughty and nice at the same time, being sweetened with natural honey but with a splash of Grand Marnier as my spirit of choice this holiday season!
How to make Sugar Free Cranberry Relish;
300g/11oz fresh cranberries
1 large orange
½ teaspoon ground coriander seeds
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons runny honey
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur
Start by giving your orange a good scrub to remove any wax preservative and then pat dry. Rinse the cranberries too.
Chop the orange and pulse in your food processor till you get a mushy pulp with only small shards of peel.
Put the cranberries and orange pulp into a heavy based pan and add the crushed coriander seeds and ground cinnamon. It is always best to crush and grind your spices just before use for a fresher and more pungent flavour.
There will be enough juice from the orange to start the cranberries cooking nicely without burning. Heat on low and raise gently to a simmer.
The cranberries will start to pop and split, sounding like a mellow and somewhat laid back popcorn session.
After about 15 minutes they will be tender enough for you to squish with a potato masher while still in the pot. You could use a wand blender if you want to go for a really smooth look, but I prefer the texture you get from simply mashing the berries.
Add the honey and stir well cooking for a further 10 minutes.
Add the liqueur, stir well and then ladle into 2 sterilised jars.
Store in the fridge and use within 4 weeks.
- 300g/11oz fresh cranberries
- 1 large orange
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander seeds
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons runny honey
- 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur
- Start by giving your orange a good scrub to remove any wax preservative and then pat dry. Rinse the cranberries too.
- Chop the orange and pulse in your food processor till you get a mushy pulp with only small shards of peel.
- Put the cranberries and orange pulp into a heavy based pan and add the crushed coriander seeds and ground cinnamon. It is always best to crush and grind your spices just before use for a fresher and more pungent flavour.
- There will be enough juice from the orange to start the cranberries cooking nicely without burning. Heat on low and raise gently to a simmer.
- The cranberries will start to pop and split, sounding like a mellow and somewhat laid back popcorn session.
- After about 15 minutes they will be tender enough for you to squish with a potato masher while still in the pot. You could use a wand blender if you want to go for a really smooth look, but I prefer the texture you get from simply mashing the berries.
- Add the honey and stir well cooking for a further 10 minutes.
- Add the liqueur, stir well and then ladle into 2 sterilised jars.
- Store in the fridge and use within 4 weeks.
Karon x
This is my new favorite cranberry relish. It is so simple, but with such amazing flavor! Thank you so much! I’ll be making this as a holiday staple for years to come.
Hi Heather
So glad you like my recipe. Sometimes the simplest things are the best.
K x