Source
The Exploratory Kitchen
Total time: 3 hour 15 minutes
Yield: 2 cups
Equipment
Small pot
Fine-mesh strainer
Ingredients
2 12oz bag of cranberries
2 cups sugar
2 oranges, juiced
1 orange peeled rind
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
Procedure
- All ingredients were combined in a small pot and set over medium heat. You could see it foam up as the cranberries begin to pop. Slowly the foam subsides and the berries all burst, the mixture thickens to a thick paste even when hot. This did not take long, roughly 15 minutes. You can see the progression of the consistency in the small gallery below. Towards the end I did start helping the berries pop to speed things up.
- This mixture was then strained into a clean bowl. It is a bit of a process but not so bad. I simply used a rubber spatula to help push the juice through the mesh. Remember to remove precious juice from the underside of the strainer where it likes to collect. Your efforts should be rewarded with a beautiful clarified cranberry juice. Pour this juice into any container. A mason jar will give you the iconic canned look or a beautiful mold can turn this into an elegant presentation.
- I refrigerated my jelly overnight but let it cool for at least 3 hours before unmolding.
- I tend to not be in a hurry so I prepared my jelly for unmolding by simply letting it sit on the counter while I cleaned the kitchen and prepped my food. You could also carefully run some hot water for a few seconds over the mold. This should loosed the sides enough to allow your cranberry jelly to come out cleanly.
- DO NOT THROW OUT THAT PULP! Cranberry sauce muffins are a great way to us it up!
Exploratory Kitchen 