Wanted to make a quick bake with one of my staple frozen berries, I had none in the freezer but I did have a last punnet of fresh cranberries waiting to be used so I started making this ahead.
When you boil the water with sugar and adding the cranberries, you will hear a popping sound just be careful for the splatters do not squash unless you want a smooth variation or turn it into a jam or jelly. I only added one cup of sugar, but depending what you want to do with the final result and taste you can vary between 1-2 cups and add vanilla and/or cinnamon to boost even more flavour. For a Christmas dish, I have added Cointreau liquor to enhance the taste but cranberries and vodka find each other in marriage as well. Since my AppleBerry Oatmeal bake mix already has cinnamon added I choose not to repeat in this Cranberry Orange preserves.
Before I couldn’t tell the difference between jellies, jam and preserves but the secret lie in its appearance apparently:
- In jelly, the fruit comes in the form of fruit juice.
- In jam, the fruit comes in the form of fruit pulp or crushed fruit (and is less stiff than jelly as a result).
- In preserves, the fruit comes in the form of chunks in a syrup or a jam.
- In compote, whole fruits are cooked in water with sugar and spices. The syrup may be seasoned with vanilla, lemon or orange peel, cinnamon sticks or powder, cloves, ground almonds, grated coconut, candied fruit, or raisins. The compote is served either warm or cold.
So I suppose without adding the flavourings my Cranberry Orange Filling it is a preserve and if I had added the spices it changes into a compote, whad’ya know two preparations in one. I should make it again just to fine tune the recipe, but please share your results so we can make adjustments together for a better fruit filling with multiple purposes.
Note: You might think when tasting the final cranberry orange preserves it is too sour or tart, keep in mind that it combines flavours with the flour oatmeal bake and apples, so do not add more sugar or sweeteners it might be too much for the end result.