It’s Christmas Eve! After a relaxed morning here in Cambridge, I got in the mood to make some jam. After trying a range of non-traditional jam fruits, I decided to go back to the basics by trying a berry. Since cranberries are the only berries I could find this time of year, I decided to create a cranberry jam with a very different flavor profile from the one I created in Experiment 2 (the Cranberry Pomegranate Port Jam). I decided to go with oranges and cinnamon. A jam that tastes entirely of Christmas!
I began by grating the rind of seven large California oranges.
I then put three pounds of cranberries in a pot and covered the berries with water. When the berries started cooking down, I added the rind. I peeled the seven oranges, blended them and strained the juice. I poured the juice into the cooking cranberries.
I added two whole cinnamon sticks to the mixture. I put four cups of sugar and two tablespoons of pectin into a bowl and made sure they were well integrated. I then poured the sugar into the pot and mixed continually for about 20 minutes at high heat.
This is a lovely winter jam. It has a Christmasy red color. The texture is a very traditionally thick but spreadable jam texture. The cinnamon adds just a bit of complexity to the jam.
I’m about to put labels on these to give as gifts to friends. Merry Christmas everyone!
Ingredients:
- 7 large california oranges, rind grated
- 3 pounds of cranberries
- 2 sticks of cinnamon
- 4 cups of sugar
- 2 tablespoons of powdered pectin
I’ll be trying it tomorrow. I’m surprised there are no comments.
Oh, this was a delicious jam! Enjoy the jam-making! Let me know how it goes.
It turned out great. I didn’t follow it exactly as I didn’t have enough oranges or any stick cinnamon, but I made up for them with 2/3 qt of orange juice instead of water and 1 tsp ground cinnamon. I made and canned 7 pints last night.
So glad to hear it! I am glad you experimented with it as well! Glad you had ground cinnamon handy. Next time you find some cinnamon sticks at the supermarket, pick some up. I’ve found it really useful to have around in jam-making, tea-making – it just makes everything smell lovely!