Fresh Cranberry Relish

I’ll admit it; cranberries have never been my favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner. I have had all sorts, ranging from cooked cranberry sauce, to fresh cranberry relishes. My mom growing up made an excellent version with cranberries and oranges (and other things I don’t remember) but I always thought it was too bitter. In all fairness, my uncle Earl LOVED the stuff; he could eat it by the bowl (literally). So I think it just goes to show- it’s all a matter of taste. When I came across this recipe from I thought it might be just what I was looking for. It was true…I have become a cranberry convert. What I like about this is that it’s similar to my Mom’s with being a relish and having the orange/cranberry flavor I enjoy- but it has a couple of other things in there that sweeten it up a little bit- and a few other things that give it a really nice variety of texture.

Recipe from Thekitcn.com

Ingredients:

1 12-oz bag of fresh cranberries

1 1/2 tsp orange zest

1 large orange, sectioned and chopped into small pieces

1 apple, cored and diced (use a crisp variety such as Fuji)

½ cup canned crushed pineapple

½ cup chopped pecans

½ cup sugar

¼ tsp salt

Method:

My change in this recipe was my method of preparation (come on, I had to change something!)

Rinse and drain the cranberries. In a food processor pulse the cranberries and the sugar until finely chopped (about 12-15 times).

Put into a large bowl and set aside.

Add the apple, orange zest, and pecans to the food processor. Pulse a few times until everything is finely chopped and combined (about 10 times). Add to the bowl containing the cranberries.

Section the orange. To do this, slice a small disk off the top and the bottom of the orange, so it will sit on a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to carve down the sides, removing the peel and the pith (white part) completely from the orange. Using a paring knife cut the orange on either side of the thin membrane that separates each section. The sections should come out easily with a little wiggle. Chop roughly and add to the relish.

Add the ½ cup of crushed pineapple and stir to combine all the ingredients. Let the relish sit in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours for the flavors to combine. You can make this a day in advance in keep it in the fridge, or make it far in advance and put it in the freezer (for like a year).

Thanksgiving’s almost here….is your turkey thawed?

-Sue