Cranberries and apples are both in season. Why then, are we reaching for that can of jelly that maintains the same shape as it was packed in?
These three cans represent the choice you will have going to WallyMart. Let us flip these around, shall we?
Oh my. Look at those ingredients. It is pretty hard to get a grip about it with my camera phone, so here is the list, with my comments attached:
Cranberries – Okay, at least they get this one right.
Glucose-fructose – Another name for HFCS. AKA, High Fructose Corn Syrup. Way cheaper than sugar, and the theory is that it is more damaging to you. Talk of the town is that this item is what is behind obesity in America. There is no scientific proof that what I am saying is correct. The question is, why are we putting this shit into our nice cranberry sauce.
Water – Of course you could not make cranberry sauce without water. Can you say filler????
Corn syrup – Corn syrup is in everything these days. See, there was some already from the Glucose fructose, so let’s add some more for the party, shall we?
Citric acid – We could just add lemon juice, but see, then it would not be a flavoring agent, and a preservative. So, we are using the same ingredient that is used in some applications for cleaning, shampoo, and in cement mixes.
The recipe that I am going to show you is almost as quick and simple as opening a can. For the amount of time it takes you to get in the car, drive to the store and find that infernal can, you can have something just as good.
Take your cranberries and place them into a pot.
Peel your apple, and dice it small dice, place it into your pot with the cranberries.
Chop up some peeled ginger and garlic, add to the pot with a stick of cinnamon.
It should start to look like this now. Give it a stir, and put it over medium heat
Now for the goodness. Add the zest of a lemon (fire the juice of it into the pot as well.) Add a bit of brown sugar to balance the tartness of the cranberries and lemon. Finally, add maple syrup to tie all the flavors together. I swear the bottle is not that yucky syrup. We just pour the can into the bottle.
Funny story time: When I first started living together with my wife, I remember we went shopping in Hinton, Alberta. For those of you in the know, Hinton is the last outpost of civilization before the rugged Rocky Mountains. We were shopping, and my wife comes by one of those Aunt Jamima bottles. She started going on about how good it was. I was looking at her like she had a third head, because I personally think that stuff is shit.
Remember something though, a can of maple syrup costs around 15$ at that time. So, she buys the stuff and the next day I make pancakes. Out comes the syrup, and oh. What a disaster.
It turns out that her mother always poured the cans into an empty Aunt Jamamia bottle. Of course, my wife did not know that. LOL
Okay, on to more.
This step is optional. Since we are dealing with pork, I think the addition of rosemary is a nice touch.
The cranberries will start popping, and the apples are tender. Simmer for a couple of minutes to set the natural pectin.
Remove the cinnamon stick and rosemary sprigs. They are not that tasty after you have extracted the flavors. Besides, they are not so nice to chew anyway.
There you are, a nice bowl of Cranberry Apple Chutney. I would say it beats the Simpson’s canned delight any day. Best of all, you know what is going into it, and there is no corn in sight. In my books, perfect for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and our post!
Here is the final recipe:
Cranberry Apple Chutney with a Touch of Rosemary
Yields: 1 liter (4 cups)
Ingredients:
- 1 bag (240g) cranberries, fresh
- 4 apples, (cooking variety is preferred,) diced
- 1 inch (20g) ginger, minced
- 1 clove garlic, peeled, minced
- 1 2″ cinnamon stick
- 1 lemon, zest and juice
- 50 grams (¼ cup) brown sugar
- 60 mL (1/4 cup) maple syrup
- 1 sprig rosemary
Instructions:
- Place cranberries and apples in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Add ginger, garlic, cinnamon stick, lemon zest and juice, brown sugar, maple syrup and rosemary; continue to cook over medium heat until the cranberries start to pop. (About 10 minutes.)
- Simmer for 5 minutes, then remove the cinnamon stick, and rosemary sprig.
- Pour into a bowl and cool before serving.
- The chutney will keep up to 2 weeks if properly refrigerated.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I love this. My grandmother used to make something reminiscent of this with cranberries and oranges, but this is much more complex and sounds way more delicious. I will have to try this one out for Thanksgiving. The only problem is that the boyfriend’s family has such awful taste sometimes that they will actually choose the canned junk over homemade goodness. Have a solution for that?
@Sara – LOL. I feel your pain. I know what I would do in your situation – I would not give them the choice, and look at them as if they were crazy for wanting the canned version. Short of that, I would use an empty can to “mold” the sauce in. Perhaps that would work.