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Cranberry Conserve
2 quarts cranberries 1 cup raisins 2 oranges 2 lemons 6 cups sugar Combine the grated rind and juice of the oranges and lemons with the other ingredients and cook until the mixture is thick and clear. Pour into hot clean glasses and seal. This is an excellent relish with game.
A straightforward whole-fruit conserve that needs no added pectin — cranberries carry plenty of their own, along with the acid that sets it. The only real decisions are how far to cook it and how you intend to keep it.
- Two quarts of cranberriesCranberries were commonly sold by volume in this period. Two quarts is roughly 8 cups, or close to three 12-ounce bags — about 2 lb of fruit. Frozen berries work without thawing.
- No liquid is called forNone is needed. The berries burst within a few minutes over moderate heat and release enough juice to dissolve the sugar, but the pan must be heavy and the heat moderate until that happens, or the sugar on the bottom will scorch.
- Rind and juice only"Rind and juice only" -- Grate just the coloured zest from the oranges and lemons and leave the white pith behind; the juice goes in separately. The membranes and pith are discarded.
- "Thick and clear"That is the visual cue for the setting point, reached at 220F on a candy thermometer at sea level. Expect roughly twenty minutes or more of steady boiling after the sugar has dissolved. A spoonful chilled on a cold saucer should wrinkle when pushed.
- Raisins go in at the startThey plump and soften over the full cooking time. Dark or golden both work; if yours are very dry, a few minutes' soak in the citrus juice first keeps them from drawing liquid out of the conserve.
- "Glasses" and "seal""Glasses" here most likely means jelly tumblers, which were typically sealed with a disc of melted paraffin, a method no longer recommended. Ladle into hot sterilised half-pint jars and either process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes or cool and keep refrigerated for up to a month.
- YieldAround ten to twelve half-pint jars. The conserve firms considerably as it cools, so stop slightly softer than the texture you want on the spoon.
- ServingThe note about game is accurate — the acid and the bitterness from the rind cut rich, dark meat. It does the same job for roast pork, duck and cold turkey.