Pickled Cranberries for Ball’s 25 Days of Making and Giving

I am a devoted to the belief that when it comes to holiday giving, a homemade gift (preferably edible), is best. I come by this attitude honestly, as my parents have a tradition of pairing my mother’s homemade jams with quart jars of my dad’s famous pancake mix to share with their friends, family, and neighbors.

I’ve been filling little flat rate boxes to send off some of my favorite far-flung people, and when my local family gathers on Saturday for our annual Hanukkah party, I’ll be carrying a sturdy crate full of jams and pickles so that everyone can pick their favorite.

This year, I’ve teamed up with Ball Canning to share a seasonal recipe as part of their 25 Days of Making and Giving campaign. All across the internet, bloggers have been posting their favorite gift in a jar creation to help inspire your handmade holiday. For my part, I’ve decided to share an updated and improved version of my pickled cranberries.

I initially wrote a recipe for pickled cranberries back in the days when I was writing about pickles for Serious Eats. However, I’ve found that the yield wasn’t perfectly consistent and readers sometimes struggled to find some of the ingredients I called for. This new and improved version makes exactly 4 pints of preserves (which you can either can in pint jars, or spread across half pints, for an increased gifting yield) and uses things you should be able to get at the grocery store or local spice shop.

The finished pickle is a lovely thing to serve alongside roast meat or with a cheese plate, and if you’re going to pack it up in a box to ship across country, I highly suggest that you include a note telling the recipient to stir the liquid into sparkling water or a gin and tonic.

Win Canning Supplies during Ball Canning’s 25 Days of Making and Giving

This recipe is part of Ball Canning’s 25 Days of Making and Giving—each day throughout December, Ball will be sharing a new gift-in-a-jar recipe or tutorial designed for holiday giving Make sure to check back each day throughout the month for a new, fun way to handcraft your holiday gifts. You can also follow Ball Canning on Facebook or Pinterest to stay on top of the daily posts!

During the 25 Days of Making and Giving, Ball is giving away daily prizes to those who enter on the contest website (you can enter every day)! Each daily entry is also included in the grand prize drawing for a FreshTech Automatic Canning System.

Disclosure: This post was written in partnership with Ball Canning. However, all the thoughts and opinions expressed here are entirely mine.

Print
Pickled Cranberries

Yield: makes 4 pints

Ingredients

3 12-ounce bags of cranberries
3 cups apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup filtered water
2 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
1 inch segment of fresh ginger, sliced
1 teaspoon allspice berries
1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns

Instructions

Prepare a boiling water bath canner and four pint jars and new lids.
Wash cranberries and pick over for any stems or bad berries.
Combine vinegar, water, and sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Add cinnamon sticks to the brine.
Place fresh ginger, allspice berries, whole cloves, and black peppercorns in a spice bag or tie them up in a length of cheesecloth. Add them to the brine.
Once brine is boiling vigorously, add the cranberries. Stir to combine and cook for 5-7 minutes, until the cranberries begin to pop and the brine has returned to a rolling boil.
When cooking time has elapsed, remove pot from heat. Pull out the spice bag and cinnamon sticks. Break cinnamon sticks in half and set aside.
Using a slotted spoon, ladle cranberries into prepared jars. Cover berries with brine, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Place a cinnamon stick segment into each jar.
Wipe jar rims, apply lids and rings and process in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes.
When time is up, remove jars from canner and place them on a folded kitchen towel to cool. When jars are cool enough to handle, remove rings and check seals. Any unsealed jars should be kept in the refrigerator.
Let jars sit for at least 24 hours before eating to all the flavors to settle.
Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin2.6http://foodinjars.com/2014/12/pickled-cranberries-balls-25-days-making-giving/


Related Posts:

Homemade Cranberry Jelly and Pickled Cranberries
Preserves in Action: Pickled Cranberries