To cook or not to cook? The cranberry question
November 10, 2021 by DarcieUS Thanksgiving in less than three weeks away, and given the hype about possible supply shortages, many cooks are busy gathering the ingredients to grace the holiday table. One item that makes an appearance at this meal – the biggest food holiday in the USA – is cranberry sauce or relish. Some people insist on the canned, jellied version, with others turning to a traditional cooked sauce. However, there are renegades out there who shun the cooking process altogether and go with a relish made from raw cranberries.
According to Maggie Hoffman, leaving the cranberries in their natural state provides the perfect foil for the heavy foods that often appear on your Thanksgiving table such as turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, and stuffing. This fare “needs something fresh and tangy and even a tiny bit sharp to cut through the richness,” and the perfect seasonal condiment, in Hoffman’s opinion, is a raw cranberry relish.
While I respect Hoffman’s opinion on this issue, I have long been on Team Cooked Cranberries. I’ve tried a few recipes for raw cranberry relish, but none has wowed me. My dislike stems from the texture, which is crunchy but not in a good way, more like “someone forgot to cook this”. However, one of the recipes included in the article intrigues me: a decidedly savory take in the Cranberry date relish with ginger from Flavors of the Sun (one of my favorite cookbooks of 2021). Maybe it’s time for me to take another look at ditching the saucepan in favor of the food processor. What’s your stance on cranberry relish/sauce: cooked or raw?
Photo of Cranberry relish from EatingWell Magazine by Jonathan Perno
Categories
- All Posts (6839)
- Antipasto (2083)
- Author Articles (246)
- Book News (932)
- Cookbook Giveaways (978)
- Cookbook Lovers (250)
- Cooking Tips (106)
- Culinary News (299)
- Food Biz People (548)
- Food Online (782)
- Holidays & Celebrations (265)
- New Cookbooks (146)
- Recipes (1488)
- Shelf Life With Susie (231)
- What's New on EYB (132)
Archives
Latest Comments
- Karla123 on The Big Book of Bread – James Morton – Cookbook Giveaway
- FuzzyChef on Bay leaves – essential or superfluous?
- hangryviking on Gift Guide for Bakers – 2024 and Giveaway
- FJT on Bay leaves – essential or superfluous?
- lucymajor94 on Desi Bakes – Cookbook Giveaway
- lucymajor94 on The Curry Guy Chicken – Giveaway
- acecil on Gift Guide for Bakers – 2024 and Giveaway
- GillB on Bay leaves – essential or superfluous?
- lascatx on Bay leaves – essential or superfluous?
- demomcook on Bay leaves – essential or superfluous?