Most of the time, I do my preserving in relatively small batches. However, as we begin to approach the gift giving time of year, I take inventory of what I have in the pantry and then make a few very large batches to round out the selection (Scott likes to give his co-workers some of my jams and pickles, and I typically put together gift bags for neighbors and family members).
One fruit I rely on heavily for these larger, holiday-themed batches is the mighty cranberry. It has great flavor, contains a goodly amount of pectin (which means there’s never any doubt that it will set up), and goes beautifully with all manner of wintertime fare.
This is not my first go-round with cranberry jam (I shared a basic batch the first year this site was around and did a tin can molded version back in 2011), but I like this one because it has plenty of flavor and retains its essential tartness. Of course, if you want to temper the boldness of the cranberry, you can try pear cranberry jam, cranberry marmalade, apple cranberry jam, or cranberry quince sauce.
When making this jam for gift giving, I cook it until the berries are mostly popped and will sometimes use a potato masher to help break it down a bit more. If you prefer a smoother spread, you could either introduce an immersion blender or push the jam through a food mill for something that it mostly skin and seed-free.
Because cranberries are quite high in acid, this is a recipe you play around with a little without causing unsafe conditions. Swap out the spices and drop in a vanilla bean instead. Use more orange zest and juice for a citrusy punch. Go wild and add a little cayenne or ancho chili powder to provide some heat. Unless you start adding handfuls of garlic and onion, you’d be hard pressed to make an unsafe cranberry jam.
Oh, and one more note about cranberries. If you like sweet and tangy things and you haven’t tried my pickled cranberries yet, consider making up a batch while they’re in stores this season.
Now your turn. What cranberry jams, sauces, and jellies are you making this time of year?
Spiced Cranberry Jam
Ingredients
- 3 pounds fresh cranberries about 12-14 cups
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 3 cups apple cider
- 1 lemon zested and juiced
- 1 orange zested and juiced
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Instructions
- Prepare a boiling water bath and necessary jars. Place lids in a small saucepan and bring to a bare simmer.
- Combine the cranberries, sugar, cider, and orange and lemon juice and zest in a large pot (use a big one, this jam will bubble) over high heat.
- Bring to a boil, skimming off the foam that develops on the top of the fruit. Cook for 10-15 minutes, until the cranberries pop.
- Add the ginger, cinnamon, and cloves and stir to combine.
- Continue to cook, stirring regularly, until the jam looks quite thick. If it appears to be thickening too much before all the cranberries are popped, add a splash of water to loosen.
- Ladle jam into jars. Wipe rims, apply lids and rings and process in a boiling water bath for ten minutes.
I followed the recipe but mine taste really weired! It has sour taste to it at the end!
Cranberries are sour by nature. I’m sorry to hear that the jam isn’t to your liking, though.
I know this is an older recipe, but I just had to say how delicious it is! I had an extra bag of cranberries left from making your apple-cranberry and pear-cranberry jams (this is what happens when I send my boyfriend to get ingredients!) and wanted to make something with them. I based the proportions on your 2009 cranberry jelly recipe, but was still slightly short of one lb. of fruit, so I peeled and pithed two oranges we had in the fridge after zesting them to bulk it up. I also switched to brown sugar and used a bit of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. I ended up with two half pints and one 4 oz. jar, which are in a waterbath right now. Love the recipe. Thanks!
Miriam, is it possible for you to share how much brown sugar you used in your adjustment to Marisa’s recipe. also increments to spices. I would like to try your version since I usually have those ingredients on hand. Thank you
Thank you again for this great recipe – it was lovely to give out around Thanksgiving! I just opened a jar today, though, and I noticed a few bubbles (not moving) at the top – and black scum on the underside of the lid. I threw out the whole jar to be safe, but I was curious if you knew what the cause of that was, and what I could try in the future to avoid it. (This recipe was so delicious, I really miss that last jar!)
Megan, sometimes you get some black scum forming on the bottom of lids as the acid from the product reacts with a scratch that exposes the metal of the lid. It’s not dangerous, just ugly. And bubbles aren’t a risk if they’re not actively moving. If there are just a few air pockets in a product, they do no harm. I think this jam was probably safe to eat. 🙁
Thanks for the quick response! I guess one actually can be too careful 🙂 but good to know for next time, and I’m relieved that those other jars I gave out as gifts have nothing to worry about!
Great looking jam….I also took the time to check out your Pickled Cranberry recipe. What a great idea! I would never have thought of pickling them. Definitely will have to work some pickled cranberries into a burger recipe. Thanks for sharing it.
Hi,
I like the looks of this recipe but only want to make a maximum of 6 half-pint jars. I stink at scaling down recipes accurately so can anyone provide some suggestions for cutting this recipe down to equal 6 half-pints?
Do you think the following would work?:
1.5 pounds fresh cranberries (about 6-7 cups)
1.5 cups granulated sugar
1.5 cups apple cider
1/2 lemon, zested and juiced
1/2 orange, zested and juiced
1/2 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
Thanks!
It’s totally fine to just cut the recipe in half, as you’ve done.
Thank you Marisa 🙂
Marisa, You have saved my life – yet again! For years i have made Spicy Cranberry Sauce and this morning could not find my recipe. This so close that I can tinker with the spices and get close enough that my husband will not know!
Love your book and have thoroughly enjoyed making the jams the past two summers using it. A happy holiday season to you and yours.
I make a great cranberry sauce with Dry marsala as the liquid. I’m wondering if I could use marsala in this jam recipe instead of apple cider (or orange juice as other recipes seem to use).
I’m sure you could!
Even if I’m canning?
Yes. Wine is acidic and the cranberries have plenty on their own as it is.
I really want to try this (but maybe in a small batch just for myself.) This is the first year that I’ve realized just how amazing cranberries are! I love them. Thanks for posting this. 🙂
Is it OK to use frozen cranberries?
Yes.
I just made your pickled cranberries, not in small part because I wanted a shrub. The leftover liquid, with gin (since the pickles have juniper), soda, and a rosemary sprig (because I’m enamored with cranberries and rosemary). Heaven.
I’m obsessed with your pickled cranberries. I’ve been adding them to my holiday cheese platters lately. I find they pair beautifully with a semi-soft blue cheese in particular.
Cranberries make a great addition to other preserves. In the last few weeks I’ve made an apple chutney with cranberries, mango chutney with cranberries, and applesauce with cranberries.
Amazing, Marisa! My house smells like Christmas! Thank you!
Just made a batch! It made a perfect 5 pints and a teaspoon. It is just sweet enough but still plenty tart. I replaced a 1/3 cup apple cider for Grand Mariner just to use up the last of a bottle I had in the cupboard. Reduced the amount of orange zest so it didn’t have too much orange overpowering the jam. Very tasty!
Just made this with the vanilla bean. The jars are cooling on the counter now. Had some of the extra with nutella on homemade wheat bread. It was amazing. Thanks for the recipe!
I am bringing it for Thanksgiving, but might mix in some tangerines from my tree and maybe some jalapeno.
Thanks for the tip on safely playing with cranberry recipes, Marisa! I have just reached the point where I feel comfortable enough to putter around with jam recipes, but I am paranoid about exceeding the safe acidity threshold.
Love your site and learned how to make pear vanilla jam from you this year. Thank you! I enjoy making Cranberry Chutney from The Farmhouse Cookbook. Has some sweet, has some heat. Very tasty and tangy.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
I Made this today. Tastes great! Very easy . Do make this in a large pan as when the cranberries pop the liquid pops also. Can make a mess.
Yum! I loosely chop a few kumquats and chuck them in my cranberry relish/spread. Fast citrus flavor without pulling out the microplane.
What are the chances that you can put this in individual zip lock bags and freeze it?… Was hoping someone had tried this.. I’m not big on giving up space for canning jars, but can stack freezer bags easily…
You don’t need to preserve it in the freezer. If you do the boiling water bath process, it’s shelf stable.
I’m looking for a cranberry pepper jelly recipe. Anyone know of one?
Marissa — How are you using this? I made it yesterday and found it seemed more condiment like, as in cranberry sauce, rather than a jam. I suppose I could do the brie thing with it.
P.S. I have a friend who insists that fruit jams don’t need processing in a hot water bath. She sterilizes the jars in her dishwasher, fills them with piping hot jam, and puts the lids on and sets them aside to pop on their own. I have never heard anyone say this is feasible, but she says the sugar and the acid make it safe from botulism. She’s been doing it this way for 30 years and no one has died yet as far as we know.
I used a quarter cup of diced ginger instead of the grated 1tbl. Will this make the batch unsafe? Anyone know? I’d like to give the jars as gifts.
Can I make it half cranberry/half apple? I have several pks of apple peelings in the freezer and would love to use them.
Sure!
I made your cranberry quince sauce – so good! I brought it to a potluck and everyone raved about it. And pickled cranberries are on the agenda for today.
Thank you so much for this 🙂 We joined a CSA this year. For some reason I thought we’d be getting a wide variety of vegetables and fruit, and we did – just spread out over a year. Each delivery would be a ludicrous amount of 2 or 3 things. Your site has provided a lot of encouragement for dealing with it all! Armed with So Easy and the Blue Book I think I managed to defeat our CSA deliveries. I haven’t canned since I was a teenager, but so far no signs of jar failure of spoilage. I was just checking them to see what I could gift – so this post was perfectly timed.
Thank you again!
just made a batch of this, the jars are sealing now — from what I’ve tasted I’m in love! Thanks for posting!
A few weeks back I made a Spiced Port Apple Cranberry Sauce. Chunky, not to sweet like typical cranberry sauces. Though I’m saving most of it for Thanksgiving, I have found myself eating it out of the jar with a spoon as a late night treat! 🙂 Find recipe here: http://www.puttingupwitherin.com/2013/11/08/spiced-port-apple-cranberry-sauce/
I make strawberry jam. I think it’s time to try new things! Yay!
Could you put chopped walnuts in this and still be able to can it? If so, I’m calling this one good for the traditional cranberry relish this year!
I made a Super Berry jam last summer with cranberries, blueberries, strawberries, and sweet cherries. It’s so, so good! The mix of berries is just right.
I plan to try this one. Vanilla bean in cranberry jam? Sounds marvelous.
I made a double batch of your pear cranberry about a month ago . . . . .so FLIPPING good I scared myself. thank you for thinking that one up 🙂
Not Marissa, but this looks safe for water bath canning to me. I would process for 10 minutes as the above recipe does.
This is my absolute favorite cranberry sauce. Does it appear it would be safe to water bath and if so how long would I process? I would load it into hot jars of course. I have been wanting to can it for some time and this post leads me to believe I could!
1 c blueberries
1 c fresh orange juice
8 oz cranberries
1 TB orange zest
3/4 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla
combine in sauce pan until sugar dissolves an berries soften. about 15 minutes.
Any advise would be so appreciated!
Wish I’d seen this recipe before I made a batch of jellied cranberry sauce from a different website! That recipe had orange zest, and I thought it would be great, but it didn’t tell you to cook it down, so I had to re-process when it didn’t jell the first time. After 2nd processing, you can’t really taste the orange anyway!
That said, I made your pickled cranberries last year, and my last jar will be on my table, along with the aforesaid jellied cranberry sauce, and a fantastic cranberry/dried cherry/walnut chutney which I’ve been making for years. (not cannable, I don’t think, but certainly can be made ahead – it gets better with age!
And next year, I’m totally making your recipe!!!
I’m excited to try this, alongside the cranberry syrup in your book. I do have a question…I am hoping to use some of my cranberry stash to infuse a little bourbon (orange, clove, cranberry). The infusion is only about 4 days and then I will have lovely, bourbony berries left over. Do you have any experience with or suggestions about using boozy berries in a jam or chutney?
I would just use your leftover boozy cranberries in this (or similar) recipe without making any other changes. I just made a Cranberry, Apple, Pear jam with red wine as the liquid rather than water as in the basic recipe I used.
If you want maybe change the spice profile to fit the orange, clove and bourbon that you’ve added already to the cranberries.
My old Hubs can’t have sugar, so I’ve looked everywhere for a simple sugar-free cranberry jelly recipe made with the juice only. I have to make it with Splenda – do you know of a recipe source? I’d be so grateful!
For years I’ve made a cranberry marmalade with currants and brown sugar, plus pinches of allspice, mustard, cardamon, cloves and ginger. Serve over warm Brie with slices of apple, pear, crackers… My go-to holiday appetizer! And the little jars are so pretty as gifts…
Where can i find your recipe? Sounds very flavorful!
I, too, am interested to know if you think jalapeno could be added for a spicier version of this fabulous sounding spread? For this particular recipe, how much would you suggest of the jalapeno?
While I’m a big jammer, I’ve never made any with cranberries. DUH — thanks! I’m just not sure which of your awesome combinations to try first!!!!
Oh, this sounds delicious and on my to-do list, thanks! Cranberries are such an inexpensive fruit and make fabulous jam and marmalade.
Love the addition of apple cider with the cranberries, difficult to choose between making this or the pickled version! Could I add horseradish to this jam, how much do you recommend?
You could add a little horseradish. I’d stick with just a tablespoon or two.
I made two batches with cranberries: one orange-cranberry marmalade (which was fantastic), and a cranberry-apple relish. So yummy!
Could I add finely chopped jalapeño and successfully preserve using this recipe?
You certainly could. No more than a tablespoon or two, though.
I like this Cranberry Banana Jam – http://rurification.blogspot.com/2011/12/cranberry-banana-jam.html. We love it on pancakes.
That sounds delicious!
Marissa!?! Where do you get such an awesome size bag of cranberries?!?
That one was a Costco special. 🙂
I have a fantastic Orange-Cranberry Relish that I love to make!! I never bother to preserve it because I eat the whole thing up so quickly – it goes with everything!
Also perfect timing for me. Cranberry-Orange Relish is my absolute favorite, but I can’t seem to find a recipe that provides preserving information. This will be just perfect because I (of course) bought the cranberries on sale this week before I looked for the recipe. 🙂
If you’re talking about a raw cranberry orange relish, the reason you don’t find any recipes that provide preserving information is because you can’t preserve a raw sauce. It would have to be cooked first.
I’m not much of a cranberry person but sure willing to give this a try. I have always told my daughters and grandkids; ‘don’t say eww until you chew.’ (neither words, don’t say you don’t like something until you try it first.)
Do have couple ?’s.
First, if a person doesn’t have fresh ginger, about how much of the ground would you use?
2nd; about how many jars did you get from this batch using 3 lb. bag of berries?
Thank you
ColleenB.
Texas
I apologize. After rereading, I spotted how many jars this makes. Pays to have my morning coffee first before reading blogs.
Colleen
No worries, Colleen! I know that the yield isn’t in the easiest place to spot.
I would start with just a teaspoon of ground ginger. The dried version can be quite potent. Taste and if you feel like it could use a little extra, add it by the 1/2 teaspoon.
Perfect timing!! I just picked up 6 bags of cranberries. I got this wild hair back in the latter part of September to begin making Xmas gifts as I knew I wouldnt have the money for gifts. Since then I have put up 6 different kinds of salsa, pickles, relish, chutney, butters, and am just now getting into the jams. My mother is enjoying it as she is getting the half jars and leftovers and the stuff that didnt seal… Along about the time I got this wild hair, is when I found your site.