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Dessert

Cranberry Jelly

A sweet preserve made from cranberries, sugar, and water, cooked until the berries burst and the mixture thickens.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Cranberry Jelly

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the berries

  1. Pick over and wash the cranberries, then drain them.

  2. Put the wet berries in a saucepan with baking soda and a pint of water.

  3. Heat on high until the first berry pops, then turn off the heat.

  4. Return the berries to the fire with 1 cup of water, cover, and stew until tender.

  5. Drain the berries through a sieve and return the pulp to the saucepan.

Make the jelly

  1. Boil the pulp for a few minutes, then add the sugar and stir until melted.

  2. Rinse a mold with cold water and sprinkle with granulated sugar.

  3. Pour the nearly cold cranberries into the mold and set in a cool place to firm up.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Cranberries
Provide the main flavor and the pectin that lets the jelly set.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and helps the jelly hold its shape once cooled.
Baking soda
Helps soften the berry skins so they cook down more easily.

The step that matters

Stop the heat when the first berry pops. Cooking too long past this point can break down the pectin and leave the jelly weak or dull in flavor.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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