Introduction: Cranberry Relish

Cranberry Sauce is a Thanksgiving staple that everyone has come to expect to be served with their Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, Yams and Green Bean Casserole. Personally, I've always considered the stuff in a can to be slightly less than edible. Then there's the home made variety of boiling the berries and sugar in water to made a more palatable jelly. Again, to me it's just too sweet and not that much better than the canned stuff.

There is so much flavor in fresh (or frozen) cranberries that it shouldn't be destroyed by cooking it! This Cranberry Relish recipe is so good, you'll never consider exposing a cranberry to heat again. It's also so easy to make, you'll have more time for the main dishes. This recipe should be prepared the day before serving so the relish has the time to set up.

Step 1: Ingredients

The ingredients are about as easy as they could get! Easy to remember too. Just one of everything…

1 Package fresh or frozen Cranberries †

1 Large Orange (or 2 smaller ones)
If you know how to feel oranges for the juicier ones, get as juicy as you can find.

1 Cup Sugar or Splenda®

A little Orange Juice if needed

You will also need a potato brush (or a stiff brush reserved exclusively for cleaning fruits and vegetables ), a very sharp knife, a rubber spatula, a blender and a medium glass bowl.

† An interesting thing about cranberries is that they stay just as fresh and crisp after being frozen! This is why they're available year 'round.

Step 2: Preperation


Like all fresh produce you purchase from the grocery, everything must be washed thoroughly.

Empty the cranberries into a colander and rinse with warm water. You don't need to thaw them, this cleaning will perform that task for you. Turn the berries while rinsing and pick out any bruised or wrinkled ones. These will be disposed of.

Rinse and lightly scrub the orange with a potato scrubber or stiff brush.

Cut the orange into six or eight sections. If you didn't get a navel orange, now would be a good time to seed it.

Step 3: Make the Relish!

Pour about a cup of the cranberries and an orange section (peel and all) into the blender. Place the cover on the blender and run it about medium speed.

Use the rubber spatula through the center of the lid to push ingredients down to the blade until it's ground enough to flow itself. Be careful not to push too far. You don't want bits of rubber through your relish.

If the orange isn't juicy enough to allow the mixture to grind up, add a little juice.

As it grinds, continue adding cranberries, orange sections and juice (if needed) until it's all ground and about the consistency of a thick milk shake. While still blending, gradually add the sugar (sweetener) into the mixture.

Note that if the orange is juicy enough, you may not need any juice at all!

Step 4: Chill

Pour the contents of the blender into a glass bowl and cover with the bowl's cover, plastic wrap or aluminum foil.

Place the bowl into the refrigerator and chill 4 hours or overnight.

Step 5: Serve

You can serve the relish right from the bowl or transfer it into your Mom's antique serving dish.

Don't bother preparing the canned or cooked cranberry sauce, because as soon as your family and guests taste this, the sauce stuff will be a distant memory!

Leftovers isn't a problem either, use this relish anywhere you might use jam. It tastes great on bagels with cream cheese or with natural peanut butter in a sandwich. Prepared relish will keep covered for about a week.