Preserved
20121207-232753-spiced-cranberry-cabernet-jam-preserved.jpg

[Photograph: Lucy Baker]

This is a rich, festive holiday jam with a pronounced red wine flavor. Try it with cheese, hearty whole-grain breads, or as a filling for thumbprint or sandwich cookies. Substitute any chopped dried fruit for the dried cranberries, or use nuts for a little crunch.

Every recipe we publish is tested, tasted, and Serious Eats-approved by our staff. Never miss a recipe again by following @SeriousRecipes on Twitter!

About the Author: Lucy Baker is a food writer and the author of The Boozy Baker: 75 Recipes for Spirited Sweets. She is currently at work on a second book about homemade food gifts. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and dachshund.

About This Recipe

Yield: 6 half-pint jars
Active time: 30 minues
Total time: 1 hour
Special equipment: Home canning kit

Ingredients

  • One (12-ounce) bag fresh cranberries
  • 1 3/4 cups cabernet sauvingnon
  • 2 whole pieces star anise
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 1 (1.75-ounce) package regular powdered fruit pectin
  • 1/2 teaspoon butter
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped
  • 4 1/2 cups granulated sugar

Procedures

  1. Pulse the cranberries in a food processor until they are coarsely chopped, about 8 to 10 short pulses. Transfer them to a large, heavy-bottomed pot and add the wine, 1/2 cup of water, star anise and cinnamon sticks. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until the cranberries have softened, about 10 minutes.

  2. Sprinkle the pectin over the cranberry mixture and stir to combine. Stir in the butter. Return the mixture to a boil. Add the dried cranberries and then the sugar all at once. Return the mixture to a boil and boil hard for one minute.

  3. Remove the pot from the heat and skim any foam from the surface of the jam with a cold metal spoon. Remove and discard the star anise and cinnamon sticks. Ladle the jam into hot sterilized jars and process them in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.