Cranberry

The tart and refreshing taste of cranberry products and cranberry sauce is most typically associated with Thanksgiving, but there are many other uses for cranberries in the kitchen. The cranberry has the ability to help with kidney infections and provides high levels of antioxidants, not to mention the vitamins that these bright red berries contain.

Cranberry juice or whole cranberries make a distinct addition to many recipes, and more and more options are available for using cranberry recipes throughout the year. For a festive and light drink consider this simple cranberry punch:

4 cups cranberry cocktail
2 cups fresh or frozen orange juice
1 large bottle of Ginger Ale or lemon-lime soda (sugar free if desired)
2 cups fresh whole cranberries
2 oranges with peel, thinly sliced into rounds

Add all ingredients together and chill. Serve in a large punch bowl and make sure everyone gets a few cranberries and a slice of orange in their punch glass.

Another easy cranberry addition to the table is a cranberry sauce recipe or a cranberry relish. Simply start with approximately four cups of fresh or fresh frozen cranberries. Place them in a food processor and blend just until the berries are chopped in half or quartered. Place in a heavy saucepan. Add three cups of sugar and the zest from one lemon, chopped very fine. Add a half a cup of water, one cinnamon stick, ½ a teaspoon of ground cloves and heat over medium until boiling, stirring constantly. When the relish has thickened, remove from heat and store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week.

Variations on this recipe include a cranberry orange relish that includes the addition of orange juice instead of water, or a cranberry chutney that adds raisins, chopped apples, chopped pecans and a bit of vinegar to provide a touch of tartness. This is a great addition to pork or poultry dishes.

Sweet dishes including cranberry jello salad, cranberry cake and cranberry bread are a welcome change from the traditional fruits such as strawberries, peaches and raspberries. Remember that cranberries can be substituted in almost any fruit recipe, but that the sugar may need to be increased slightly to offset the natural tartness of the cranberry.

Finally, a delicious addition to any salad is to sprinkle some dried cranberries, found in the same area as the other dried fruits, over the top. An easy to make cranberry salad features walnuts, cranberries and thinly slicked steak or chicken on a bed of crisp greens sprinkled with a robust vinaigrette. Be creative, you will be amazed at the many different options for using cranberries you will discover.