Homemade cranberry-orange relish — I’m completely hooked on this stuff.   The taste is incredible, and anybody who can operate a measuring cup and a blender can make it in minutes.

I don’t know who in my family started making Cranberry-Orange Relish or where the recipe originated.   As far back as I can remember noticing such things, a dish of the relish graced the table whenever a holiday meal included a roasted turkey.   Until my mother compiled a cookbook of family recipes a few years ago, I’d not seen the Cranberry-Orange Relish recipe written down anywhere.   Except on the notepad by my kitchen phone — every few years I’d have to call my mother to double-check the proportions.   (Some years I just winged it and tortured the family with taste tests, the result of which usually was ‘needs more sugar’. )

Here’s what you need to get started:  1 measuring cup, 1 blender or food processor, 4 cups cranberries, 2 oranges, and 2 cups sugar.  There’s no cooking, no complicated tricks.  Just 3 ingredients and a couple kitchen tools.

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Start with the 4 cups of fresh cranberries.  (You can use frozen if fresh aren’t available, but thaw them first.)

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Cut 2 oranges into sections and remove any seeds.

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Dump the cranberries and orange sections into the blender or food processor.  I use an old stainless steel Vitamix blender.  It’s powerful and almost as noisy as my chainsaw.  Really, it’s overkill for this recipe but I feel powerful when I turn it on and hear the roar.  Feel free to use your ordinary, relatively quiet kitchen appliance.

Add two cups sugar.  I like to use the organic sugar I buy in bulk through the co-op.  It’s less refined and has an interesting, more complex flavor.   It also makes me feel a little less sinful about the sugar proportions — yeah, it’s half sugar, but it’s organic!

You’re not falling for that one?  Oh well. The regular granulated white stuff from the grocery store is fine, too, and it’s cheaper.

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Blend until finely cut.  Stir the mix a bit to check for chunks of orange peel, and if you find any, give  it a few more whirls with the blender.  You don’t have to process until it’s a smooth puree.  A little texture is nice.

Dump the mixture into a container and refrigerate for a few hours before serving.   Feel free to sample while you’re dishing it up.

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The Genius Husband likes his samples on the Butternut Squash mini-muffins we had in the fridge.

To recap — 4 cups cranberries, 2 cut oranges (no seeds), and 2 cups sugar.  Dump in blender and process until all the parts are finely cut.  Sample.  Sample again.  Refrigerate the rest several hours before serving.   Makes 1 quart.  57 calories per 2 tablespoon serving.

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