This recipe for cranberry jelly comes from The Complete Book of Preserves and Pickles by Catherine Atkinson and Maggie Mahew. Cranberry jelly, or its relation cranberry sauce, has become a staple of the Christmas table.
Ingredients:
- 900 g (2 lbs; 8 cups) fresh cranberries
- 450 g (1 lb) eating apples, chopped
- 1 orange, juice and zest
- 600 ml (1 pt; 2 ½ cups) water
- about 900 g granulated sugar (depending on yield of cranberry juice)
Put the apple pieces (with skin and cores intact), cranberries, orange juice and zest, and water in a large pan/ Bring it to the boil. Cover the pan and simmer for about an hour.
Pour the cranberry mixture into a jelly bag and allow to strain over a bowl for several hours, or overnight. Don’t squeeze the bag, or the resulting jelly will be cloudy.
Add the strained juice back to the pan with sugar. The amount of sugar depends on the amount of juice you end up with. Add 450 g (1 lb; 2 ¼ cups) of granulated sugar for every 600 ml (1 pt; 2 ½ cups) of strained cranberry juice.
Heat until the sugar dissolves and then bring the mixture to the boil. Boil, without stirring for about 20 minutes, or until the jelly reaches setting point. You can tell this has happened by dropping a bit of the jelly onto a cold saucer, and seeing if it wrinkles when you push it with a finger.
Pour the cranberry jelly into sterilised jars, and seal.
