Chefs say fresh, flavorful cranberries leave jellies wanting

And yet, he said, his daughter always asks, “Can we get the canned stuff?”

“There’s something about it,” Taylor said. “It’s kind of nostalgic.”

Yes, the canned stuff is a guilty pleasure for a lot of us. But Taylor is convinced we can do better, as is Johannes Bernau, executive chef of The Charcoal Room at Santa Fe Station. In fact, “I never liked cranberries until I started doing fresh,” Bernau said.

Cranberries are almost synonymous with Thanksgiving. They’re harvested in the fall, they add bursts of jewel-like color to the neutrals of other autumnal foods and their tartness is a relief from all of the sweetness that’s ubiquitous during the holidays.

Taylor said he thinks of cranberries as a winter counterpart to the rhubarb of summer.

“You can always mix them with sweets,” he said. “And orange and cranberry are so complementary.”

He likes to make an orange-cranberry compote with candied ginger and serve it with foie gras.

“I always like the sweet and tart with the foie gras,” he said.

But he likes them in simpler dishes as well, such as cranberry pancakes or muffins. If you add them to muffins, he suggests boosting the sweetness component to balance their tartness; with pancakes, he said, the maple syrup will take care of that.

Another combination he likes is a gingered cranberry chutney with pork loin.

Bernau likes to mix a bag of fresh cranberries in a pot with a cup of sugar and a quart of orange juice.

“Bring that up to a boil,” he said. “Once it goes to a boil, you bring it down to a simmer and let it reduce to your desired thickness. I mash it up with a potato masher because I want to have chunks of cranberries.” He serves it chilled or at room temperature.

And, since he usually has leftover cranberry sauce, Bernau said he puts it to good use. He suggests incorporating it into an apple cobbler, or using it to make ice cream, to be served on apple pie.

Besides better flavor and texture, Bernau said an advantage of homemade cranberry sauce is that you know exactly what’s in it.

“It doesn’t have a bunch of random things that you can’t pronounce,” he said.

Here are a few notes on fresh cranberries: They freeze well; freeze them without prewashing, in their original bags for as long as a year (because they’re not available year-round, you might consider freezing them for use at any time). Don’t thaw before using; frozen berries can be added directly to baked goods (think muffins and pancakes) without thawing, but remember you’ll need to increase the baking time a bit. For other uses, just rinse them in cold water.

Because of the high acid content of cranberries, the sauce keeps well in the refrigerator for at least a couple of weeks.

CRANBERRY HOISIN DIPPING SAUCE

1 14-ounce can jellied cranberry sauce

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

1½ tablespoons apricot preserves, heated

1 whole green onion, white and green parts, sliced

Place cranberry sauce in a small mixing bowl; beat with a fork or wire whisk until smooth. Add hoisin sauce, apricot preserves and green onion. Serve as a dipping sauce for meat, poultry or shrimp.

Makes 1½ cups.

– Recipe from Ocean Spray

COSMOPOLITAN CRANBERRY SAUCE

1 (12-ounce) bag fresh cranberries, rinsed, drained and picked through

1 cup sugar

½ cup water

1/3 cup vodka

3 tablespoons orange-flavored liqueur, such as Grand Marnier or Triple Sec

In heavy medium saucepan over moderate heat, combine cranberries, sugar and ½ cup water. Bring to boil, stirring often to dissolve sugar, then reduce heat to moderately low and simmer, stirring often, until thickened and reduced to about 3 cups, about 15 minutes.

Transfer to medium bowl and cool, stirring often, until tepid, about 30 minutes. Stir in vodka and liqueur. Transfer to serving bowl, cover and refrigerate until chilled and set, at least 2 hours. (Sauce can be made as long as 2 weeks ahead and refrigerated.) Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Makes 3 cups.

– Recipe from Epicurious

JELLIED CRANBERRY SAUCE

4 (12-ounce) bags cranberries, thawed if frozen

3 cups sugar

3 1/3 cups cold water

2 tablespoons unflavored gelatin (from three ¼-ounce envelopes)

Oil for mold

Bring cranberries, sugar and 3 cups water to a boil in a 4- to 5-quart heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved, then reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until all berries have burst, 10 to 15 minutes. Pour into a large fine-mesh sieve set over a 2-quart glass measure or a bowl and let stand until all juices have drained through, about 30 minutes. If necessary, press on solids until there is enough juice to measure 3 cups, then discard solids.

Stir together gelatin and remaining 1/3 cup water and let stand 1 minute to soften. Bring 1 cup drained cranberry liquid to a simmer in a small saucepan, then add gelatin mixture and stir until just dissolved. Add gelatin mixture to remaining cranberry liquid and stir well. Pour cranberry sauce into lightly oiled mold (a 3½-cup nonreactive decorative mold or 10 1/3-cup individual decorative molds) and chill, covered with plastic wrap, until firmly set, at least 12 hours.

To unmold, run tip of a thin knife between edge of mold and cranberry sauce. Tilt mold sideways and tap side of mold against a work surface, turning it, to evenly break seal and loosen cranberry sauce. Keeping mold tilted, invert a plate over mold, then invert cranberry sauce onto plate.

Notes: Cranberry sauce can be chilled in mold as long as 2 days. It also can be unmolded 1 hour ahead and chilled or kept at room temperature.

Makes about 3½ cups.

– Recipe from Gourmet magazine

SPICED CRANBERRY-ORANGE MOLD

1½ cups boiling water

Two 3-ounce packages cranberry-flavored gelatin

1 16-ounce can whole-berry cranberry sauce

1 cup cold water

1 tablespoon lemon juice

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1 navel orange, peeled, sectioned and chopped

½ cup chopped walnuts

Stir boiling water into gelatin in a large bowl; stir for 2 minutes, until completely dissolved. Stir in next five ingredients. Refrigerate 1½ hours, or until thickened.

Stir in oranges and nuts. Spoon into 6-cup mold sprayed with cooking spray.

Refrigerate 4 hours, or until firm. Unmold.

Serves 12.

– Recipe from Kraft Foods

ROASTED CRANBERRY SAUCE

WITH HERBED CANDIED WALNUTS

Cranberries:

1 pound fresh cranberries or frozen, thawed

1¼ cups sugar

3 tablespoons walnut oil

1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme

1 teaspoon minced fresh sage

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

¼ cup dry red wine mixed with 2 tablespoons water

Walnuts:

3 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons dry red wine

¾ cup coarsely chopped walnuts

1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme

1 teaspoon minced fresh sage

For cranberries, preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix first seven ingredients on heavy, rimmed baking sheet. Roast until edges begin to bubble, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven; maintain oven temperature.

Bring wine mixture to boil in small saucepan. Stir into cranberry mixture. Roast until juices bubble and cranberries shrivel, stirring occasionally, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Transfer to medium bowl; cover and chill until cold, about 2 hours.

Note: Dish can be made three days ahead. Keep chilled.

For the walnuts, line rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Stir sugar and wine in small saucepan over medium heat until syrupy, about 3 minutes. Stir in walnuts and herbs. Transfer mixture to sheet, spreading out and separating nuts. Roast until nuts are brown, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool. Break up any clumps of nuts. (Can be made one day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.)

Makes about 3 cups.

– Recipe from Bon Appetit