Naturally Sweet Cranberry Relish

Author: Julie Morrison

No matter what time I woke up on Thanksgiving morning, I smelled roasting turkey. The fragrance permeated every room. The kitchen radiated heat through out the house and my sister and I were giddy with excitement because Grandma would soon be arriving from the country.

Grandma always brought her polished silver serving bowl where together, we sliced canned cranberries and laid them one by one on the long flat bowl. The texture seemed like a cross between pudding and jell-o and we loved it!

Then at nineteen, I took a job in the deli of a family owned grocery store. When Thanksgiving came, Joel, the youngest son, introduced me to fresh real cranberries in a homemade relish. After my first taste, I had a new favorite. I liked the texture and ate the new relish on turkey sandwiches. I even bought a pint to take home for our annual dinner.

When Grandma pulled out her silver tray and spooned the Cranberries into it, the bright relish, against the polished silver, appeared even more outstanding. My new favorite side dish disappeared over the course of dinner; a bigger hit than the slices had ever been. Even Grandma had two helpings.

But soon I discovered I had a low tolerance for sugar. The relish gave me headaches and cranberry relish without sugar was far too tart. So the quest for sugar-free cranberry relish began. Unable to locate any, I attempted to make it myself.

I began many experiments with sweeteners, but none gave the relish the right flavor. Then I happened upon a vegetarian cookbook that used apple juice concentrate as a sweetener. I had high hopes so I bought fresh cranberries and a can of frozen apple juice concentrate. The mild sweetness of the apples blended beautifully with the ruby cranberries and allowed them a measure of tartness that tasted more balanced.

When I presented the silver serving bowl with the new relish recipe, several siblings commented, “Wow! The Cranberry relish is back!”

“Hey, I though it gave you a headache.”

Grandma gave me a quick look raising one eyebrow. I winked. When Grandma tasted the relish, a smile fluttered across her face, but couldn’t believe there was no sugar.

Cranberry Relish Recipe

1 bag fresh cranberries
1 orange: peel, grated, and juiced
1/2 C chopped walnuts (optional)
12 oz can apple juice concentrate
1/8 Tsp green stevia herb

Instructions

Put apple juice concentrate, cranberries, and grated orange peel in stainless steel sauce pan on medium heat.
Simmer gently until all cranberries have popped.
Add orange juice simmer five more minutes.
Taste and add stevia a little at a time, giving it five minutes to reach full sweetness before adding more.
Add chopped walnuts and remove from heat.
When cool, refrigerate.

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