• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to header navigation
  • Skip to footer navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Work with Me
  • Press/PR
  • Contact
Display Search Bar

The Kitchen Whisperer

  • Home
  • About
  • Recipe Index
  • Shop
  • Weekly Menu
  • Tuesday’s Tips

Nov132012

The best Cranberry Relish… ever! No really, like EVER!

THE BEST Cranberry Relish you'll ever eat!
The absolute Best Cranberry Relish

Posts may contain affiliate links. Please see my Privacy Policy for further details.

With hints of orange, fresh ginger, and cinnamon, this truly is THE BEST Cranberry Relish Ever!

So growing up my mother would gratuitously buy that canned cranberry gelatinous stuff.  Now I’m not knocking it but there is just something odd about it.  Actually I think it’s that suction sound it makes coming out of the can that wigs me out more than anything.  Food shouldn’t make that sound.  Just sayin…

THE BEST Cranberry Relish you'll ever eat!

Now I love love LOVE fresh cranberries and one of my favorite things to me is my Lemon Cranberry Orange Bruffins however I’ve never found a homemade cranberry relish I’ve liked. 

They were either sickening sweet, had 9,000 things in it (seriously.. nuts in cranberry relish?  Um no, that’s yucky) OR it was so bitter that every part of your body puckered.  So that being said I set out on making what I feel is the ultimate cranberry relish.

Ingredients needed to make the Ultimate Cranberry Relish

Cranberries are crazy tart so you need to balance out the tartness.

I went with sugar, ginger, cinnamon, orange zest, and cranberry juice. Note, that it’s not a juice cocktail but actual cranberry juice. If you can’t find it, you can use orange juice. Just don’t use the cocktail stuff as that’s typically full of sugar and little to no real fruit juice.

Sugar is a given as they are crazy tart. The ginger helped give it a zing while the cinnamon gave it that warm tone.

The orange zest helps keep it light and bright.

THE BEST Cranberry Relish you'll ever eat!

How to make the best cranberry relish

This recipe is ridiculously easy to make.

  1. Put the liquid, sugar, and seasonings to a boil and then pop in the cranberries. 
  2. Boil just until the berries start to pop.
  3. Skim the foam off, ladle into jars and store once cooled in the fridge.

Note: When you make this if you don’t like the whole berries, once it’s cooked just puree it or run it through a food mill.  Same great flavor, just no chunks. But then I’d guess you’d have to call it Cranberry Sauce and not relish cause relish kinda implies chunks.

THE BEST Cranberry Relish you'll ever eat!

A Chef’s Tip about making Cranberry Relish

Almost all fruit, when you boil it will release a foam. This isn’t anything bad.

It’s simply air bubbles trapped in the cooked down the fruit. It looks funky and unappealing.

What I recommend is add a small dab of butter to the mix to help curb the foaming.  You really want to remove that stuff for your final presentation.  It doesn’t really muddle the taste much but it makes the mixture cloudy. You will still get a little foam but the butter helps reduce it considerably.

THE BEST Cranberry Relish you'll ever eat!

Adding items to your Cranberry Relish

  • If you wanted to kick this up a notch you could easily add in some minced jalapeno to give it an over-the-top taste while the mixture is cooking.
  • Add in some bourbon or whiskey while the liquids are boiling to give it a true flavor treat!
  • I do have a Grownup version of this that includes Bacon and Bourbon!

THE BEST Cranberry Relish you'll ever eat!

How to Store Cranberry Relish

You have a couple of ways to store or preserve this:

  1. Pour into glass mason jars and store in the fridge for a few months
  2. Can (preserve) them. Fill the jars like you would when making homemade jam/jelly and preserve them using the water bath method. I put them in the water bath for 15 minutes, remove, to a cooling rack and allow to set like that until completely cooled. Check your seals to ensure that they are sealed properly. By doing this they will last upwards to a year.

These make GORGEOUS gifts!

One note though is if you add any type of meat to this, you cannot use the water bath method to preserve. You will need to use a canner that is for preserving meat.

THE BEST Cranberry Relish you'll ever eat!

Uses for Cranberry Relish

  • Thanksgiving Gobbler Rolls – seriously, these rolls are the epitome of Thanksgiving in a sweet roll!
  • I always keep a jar of this in my fridge as it’s great in cakes, sauces, or yes, even on toast. 
  • Thanksgiving Gobbler Meatballs – trust me on these when I tell you that these meatballs are Thanksgiving in a single delicious bite!
  • For a savory treat… add this on top of a brie round, wrap it in the dough, and bake.  Oh dear LORD child you will think you’ve died and gone to heaven!
  • This as the fruit filling of a cupcake or cake with some cream cheese frosting or better yet, cheesecake… EPIC!
  • Let a brick of cream cheese come to room temperature, spoon some of the cranberry relish on top, and serve with crostini!

THE BEST Cranberry Relish you'll ever eat!

What I tend to do is buy about 4 pounds of cranberries when they are in season and then just freeze them as this stuff in the summer over grilled pork chops is incredible.  And trust me I learned my lesson the hard way one summer trying to find cranberries in the store.  Yeah, you can buy frozen but, it’s not the same as the ones you get fresh.

Anyway, I thought it was time to share this with you having Thanksgiving next week.  Now please, continue buying the canned stuff as it’s good in its own right however I strongly urge you to make this! You see once you taste this amazing relish you’ll use it more than just for Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

The absolute Best Cranberry Relish

So this Thanksgiving alongside your turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes you need to have this gorgeous dish as well.

Print

The best Cranberry Relish… ever! No really, like EVER!

  • Author: The Kitchen Whisperer
  • Prep Time: 5
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 3-4 cups 1x
  • Category: sauces
  • Method: stove top
  • Cuisine: Fruit Sauce

With hints of orange, fresh ginger, and cinnamon, this truly is THE BEST Cranberry Relish Ever!

THE BEST Cranberry Relish you'll ever eat!
Print Recipe
Pin Recipe
★★★★★ 4.8 from 38 reviews
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review

Ingredients

  • 1 – 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar (go with 1 cup if you prefer a more tart version)
  • 1/2 cup cranberry juice
  • 1/2–3/4 tsp fresh grated ginger
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 16 ounce bag fresh cranberries
  • Zest of 1 orange – just the orange part

Instructions

  1. In a large, heavy saucepan, add sugar, juice and cinnamon and grated ginger.
  2. Cook, stirring often, until sugar dissolves, syrup is clear and comes to a rolling boil, about 3 minutes.
  3. In a colander, rinse and pick over the cranberries to remove any mushy ones.
  4. Add cranberries to boiling syrup and continue cooking, uncovered, just until they begin to pop, about 2-5 minutes (set the timer). Be careful not to cook them too long or they will get mushy.
  5. Skim the foam off the surface with a metal spoon and discard.
  6. Remove from heat, stir in orange zest and cool to room temperature, uncovered.
  7. Place in container, cover and store in the fridge for up to 3 months.

Notes

If you prefer to have it smoother, once you add in the orange zest either use an Immersion blender on it or run it through a food mill/sieve to remove any pieces.

12829 g1.6 mg0.1 g33.1 g0.3 g0 mg

Keywords: cranberry relish, side dish, thanksgiving, christmas, fresh cranberries

Made this Recipe?

Tag @thekitchenwhisperer on Instagram and hashtag it #thekitchenwhisperer
Recipe Card powered byTasty Recipes

 

 

close
Belgian Liege Waffles

JOIN MILLIONS OF TKW FAMILY MEMBERS

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER TODAY! RECIPES THAT ARE EASY TO MAKE, DELICIOUS, AND CHEF CREATED!

No email clutter! Read our privacy policy for more info.

You're one step closer to joining millions of TKW Family Members! Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Sharing is caring!

Pairs Perfectly With:

Thanksgiving Gobbler Rolls
Thanksgiving Gobbler Turkey Dinner Meatballs
Thanksgiving Gobbler Pizza – Perfect way to use leftovers
Previous Post
Next Post

Reader Interactions

View Comments

Recipe Reviews & Comments

  1. Elaine Brown says

    January 2, 2021 at 7:11 pm

    Excellent recipe. You had me laughing when you described the “suction sound” of cranberry sauce emptying from the can. I recall the awful “can lines” that were usually evident in the store-bought version. I use the zest of 1 large Navel orange in my cranberry sauce. And I use a citrus reamer to squeeze the fresh juice and I use that in place of cranberry juice.

    I like the presence of ‘whole cranberries’ in my relish, so after I have simmered the entire batch, and it is off the heat, I toss in a handful of whole berries. They cook in the residual heat, as the relish cools to room temp.

    This stuff freezes beautifully. And as you pointed out, keeps very well in the fridge. We enjoy it with yoghurt, on toast, or in a meat sandwich. My favourite is to serve it along side a tourtière.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  2. Laura Arteaga says

    November 30, 2020 at 1:24 am

    This is the perfect cranberry relish to try this Christmas with our Nut Roast! It looks perfect in consistency and I’m sure it tastes delicious! I like adding ginger to festive dishes as well 😊

    Reply
  3. Jo says

    November 30, 2020 at 1:20 am

    That relish looks delicious! The flavors of fresh ginger and orange is so perfect with cranberries.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  4. Melanie Cagle says

    November 29, 2020 at 11:39 pm

    This recipe is definitely being added to my Christmas recipe list! I think the addition of ginger really peaks my interest as I love all things ginger!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  5. Debbie says

    November 29, 2020 at 7:35 pm

    This is seriously the best cranberry sauce I have ever made. There is just something about the fresh ginger and orange zest that is just amazing. I made this Thanksgiving morning and I kept going back for just a little more..I was scared there would not be any left for dinner lol.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  6. Jenny says

    November 29, 2020 at 9:20 am

    This cranberry relish was great! For the first time I had fresh cranberries in my CSA box so I decided to make it for Thanksgiving. It was a hit! Now there is no way we are going back to store bought, your recipe is the best! Thanks so much for sharing it.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  7. Mama Maggie's Kitchen says

    November 28, 2020 at 10:50 pm

    This looks insanely, incredibly good. Sooo yummy! I am so excited to make this at home.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  8. Moop Brown says

    November 28, 2020 at 7:14 pm

    This looks so tasty and perfect for Thanksgiving. Definitely trying this for next year!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  9. Cathi Rae says

    November 26, 2020 at 7:28 am

    Excellent. I didn’t have cranberry juice so I used the juice from two oranges and put some of the orange pieces in also. Made it very citrusy and tart. Love it!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  10. Chef Dennis says

    November 25, 2020 at 1:53 am

    This Cranberry Relish of yours is indeed one of the bests I had so far! It’s really tasty and perfect!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
« Older Comments

Leave a Comment & Review Cancel reply

Made it?
Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

Primary Sidebar

Welcome!

I'm Lori, The Kitchen Whisperer®! Let me help you tame the kitchen one bite at a time!

More About Lori

let’s be friends

Deliciousness Delivered.

Sign up to receive delicious recipes, kitchen tips and weekly menus (bacon, pizza, oh my!) straight to your inbox.

Yeah!!! I'm so happy you are joining the TKW Family! You will get an immediate email asking you to confirm your subscription. If it's not in your inbox check your SPAM or JUNK folders. If you do not confirm it, you won't receive my newsletters.

Subscribe for delicious new recipes, kitchen tips & weekly menus

Yeah!!! I'm so happy you are joining the TKW Family! You will get an immediate email asking you to confirm your subscription. If it's not in your inbox check your SPAM or JUNK folders. If you do not confirm it, you won't receive my newsletters.

What's Trending on TKW

Spicy Buffalo Cauliflower Pizza with Ranch Seasoned Slaw
Biscoff Cookie Butter Cheesecake Dip
Cheesy Dill Pickle Bacon Cheese Ball
Everything Bagel Breakfast and Brunch Casserole
Slow Cooker Pulled Banana Pepper Roast Beef
Iconic Grandma-Style Pan Pizza with Pepperoni Cups
Egg Substitutes in Cooking and Baking
Chunky Portabella Mushroom Veggie Burgers
The Best Super Soft and Chewy Hoagie Bread Rolls
Back to Top
  • Recipe Index
  • instagram
  • Contact
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
Site CreditsDesigned by Melissa Rose Design.Developed by Once Coupled.