Skip to main content
Dessert

Spiced Cranberries

A sweet and tart preserve made from cranberries, sugar, vinegar, water, ginger, and cloves.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 6 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Why it works: Ginger and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,038 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Spiced Cranberries

Ingredients

Directions

Cook the preserves

  1. Combine the first five ingredients in a large Dutch oven.

  2. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

  3. Add cranberries, reduce heat and simmer 25 minutes, stirring frequently.

Jar and process

  1. Quickly ladle the cranberry mixture into hot sterilized jars, leaving ½ inch headspace.

  2. Cover at once with metal lids, and screw bands tight.

  3. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

61Calories
0 gProtein
0 gFat
14 gCarbs

Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 4 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Cloves1 tsp ground (2g)7
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Ginger + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,038 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,806 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  3. Vinegar + clovetop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,386 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  4. Sugar + gingertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together14,054 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).

  5. Vinegar + gingertop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,126 recipes

    Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).

Sugar and ginger barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 14,054 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Sugar
Sweetens the fruit and helps the mixture thicken into a spreadable preserve.
Vinegar
Adds acidity that balances the sweetness and sharpens the fruit flavour.
Fresh cranberries
Provide the main fruit body, tartness and natural pectin for setting.
Ground ginger
Contributes warm, pungent aroma and spice flavour.
Ground cloves
Contributes a strong, warm aroma that rounds out the spice blend.

The step that matters

Ladle quickly into hot jars. The hot mixture begins to thicken and cool as it sits, and hot jars help it seal properly. Delay can leave a loose set or weak seal, so fill and cover without pause.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, vinegar, ginger):

  1. Cinnamonfits better
  2. Allspicefits about as well
  3. Cardamomfits about as well
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, vinegar, ginger. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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.

You might also like

Ginger CookiesGinger Cookies213 recipesGinger CakeGinger Cake93 recipesSoft Ginger BreadSoft Ginger Bread85 recipesSoft Ginger CakeSoft Ginger Cake56 recipes