Monday, December 16, 2013

Awesome Fresh Cranberry-Orange Relish Recipe

This is the most accurate description of how I really make fresh cranberry-orange relish.  This makes about 4 Cups.

Ingredients:
one 12-ounce bag of cranberries
three large or four small Florida oranges
1/2 Cup sugar
optional 1/4 Cup of booze of choice

Tools:
10-cup (or larger) food processor (aka machine)
vegetable peeler
medium knife and cutting board
large mixing bowl
4-Cup storage container (2 salsa jars or 1 large yogurt container)

I place the bag of cranberries in the freezer for at least a day.  I keep a few in the freezer for future use.

I remove a bag of frozen cranberries from the freezer and place it in the fridge to thaw, at least overnight.

I get out my machine.  I take out the lower blade and install the upper blade, set to slice.

I open the hopper, cut open a bag of cranberries, turn on the machine, and dump in the cranberries.

After all the cranberries have been sliced, I turn off the machine and dump the cranberries into a large bowl.

I set up the machine with only the lower blade installed, but the lid still off:

I wash the oranges.  I use the vegetable peeler to remove most (but not all) of the outer layer of the orange peels.

I cut each orange in half crossways and remove visible seeds.  I cut each orange piece crossways again, and remove visible seeds.  I hold each piece up towards the light to make sure I got all the seeds out.

As each orange piece is cleared of seeds, I place it into the machine.

When all the orange pieces have been placed in the machine, I install the lid and puree on high until liquified.

I dump the orange puree over the cranberries, then I dump the sugar on top.  This is when optional booze may be added.

I alternately stir the mixture and let it rest.  After about an hour, I place it in the container and store it in the refrigerator.

Here is a picture to show why I freeze and thaw the cranberries.  The mixture on the left was made with fresh cranberries, and the mixture on the right was made with cranberries which were frozen and then thawed (click to enlarge).

I have been known to stretch this recipe by adding one or two shredded apples.