Gingered Highbush Cranberry Jelly
Tangy jelly made from highbush cranberries scented with ginger. Makes 4 cups
Servings: 10
Ingredients
- 5 cups roughly 25 oz highbush cranberries
- 4 cup water
- ¼ cup white wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup fresh ginger coarsely grated, crushed or finely chopped
- 1 inch stick of cinnamon
- Zest of one large orange grated on a microplane
- 4 teaspoons powdered pectin preferably Cuisine Tech brand
- 4 cups sugar
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 oz habanero pepper (2 medium) Optional! chopped rough
Instructions
- Mix the highbush cranberries with the water and vinegar in a non-reactive pot, heat gently and simmer for 15 minutes, mash gently, then allow to cool until just warm and strain, pressing out as much juice as you can.
- Mix the juice with the remaining ingredients except the sugar and pectin, warm over a pot of simmering water or in a small pan, then cool and rest overnight in the fridge, or at least for a few hours. Strain the juice naturally through cheesecloth, without pressing on it. You should be left with about 4 cups of juice (see note).
- Put a small stainless steel bowl or plate in the freezer to do set tests, and stainless steel is preferable as metal conducts differences in temperature faster than most other food-safe items.
- Mix the pectin and sugar and whisk into the strained highbush cranberry juice.
- Bring the mixture to a rolling boil, and cook until it gets to 225, then begin doing set tests, dropping small spoonfuls on a frozen metal surface or plate, watching to see when the mixture barely holds it’s shape. My sweet spot is usually around 225-230. When the mixture barely holds it's shape when dropped on a cold surface, beat in the lemon juice, then pour boiling hot into clean jars and allow to seal, or process in a water bath.
Notes
If, for some reason, you get a different amount of juice which can happen especially with smaller fruit, you'll see that the proportions here are: 1 teaspoon pectin, and 1 cup sugar for each 1 cup highbush cranberry juice. Adjust accordingly, the aromatics can be adjusted to your taste as they're strained out anyway.