Author Topic: The Condiment Aisle: Cranberry Sauce, Relishes, Chutneys....  (Read 79203 times)

Offline Front-Ranger

  • BetterMost Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 30,288
  • Brokeback got us good.
Re: The Condiment Aisle: Cranberry Sauce, Relishes, Chutneys....
« Reply #80 on: November 23, 2018, 11:46:13 am »
Chuck, I did serve something Italian for Thanksgiving: fennel. I put out a tray of veggies and dip, and fennel, or finocchio, was one of them.
"chewing gum and duct tape"

Offline CellarDweller

  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • ********
  • Posts: 38,298
  • A city boy's mentality, with a cowboy's soul.
Re: The Condiment Aisle: Cranberry Sauce, Relishes, Chutneys....
« Reply #81 on: November 25, 2018, 06:44:29 pm »
Ah, a little Italian on the table!  ;)


Tell him when l come up to him and ask to play the record, l'm gonna say: ''Voulez-vous jouer ce disque?''
'Voulez-vous, will you kiss my dick?'
Will you play my record? One-track mind!

Offline Front-Ranger

  • BetterMost Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 30,288
  • Brokeback got us good.
Re: The Condiment Aisle: Cranberry Sauce, Relishes, Chutneys....
« Reply #82 on: December 10, 2018, 07:15:01 pm »
A question for everyone. I like to serve pickles, relishes, olives and things like that before the holiday meal. But I've heard some Millennials call these "junk foods". What are your thoughts? I wondered why hardly anyone was nibbling on them!
"chewing gum and duct tape"

Offline Jeff Wrangler

  • BetterMost Supporter!
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 31,165
  • "He somebody you cowboy'd with?"
Re: The Condiment Aisle: Cranberry Sauce, Relishes, Chutneys....
« Reply #83 on: December 10, 2018, 08:02:11 pm »
Pickles and olives junk food? That's just plain weird.

I suggest try switching to a tray of carrots, grape tomatoes, and other veggies just to see what happens.
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline CellarDweller

  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • ********
  • Posts: 38,298
  • A city boy's mentality, with a cowboy's soul.
Re: The Condiment Aisle: Cranberry Sauce, Relishes, Chutneys....
« Reply #84 on: December 11, 2018, 11:53:14 am »
I've never heard anyone call these items "junk food".  Strange.


Tell him when l come up to him and ask to play the record, l'm gonna say: ''Voulez-vous jouer ce disque?''
'Voulez-vous, will you kiss my dick?'
Will you play my record? One-track mind!

Offline Front-Ranger

  • BetterMost Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 30,288
  • Brokeback got us good.
Re: The Condiment Aisle: Cumberland Sauce
« Reply #85 on: December 20, 2018, 09:31:38 pm »
The red currant jelly is destined to become part of this recipe which I like to make every year:

CUMBERLAND SAUCE
Makes: 1 1/2 cups

1 cup red currant jelly
1 tablespoon chopped shallots
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon English mustard
1/2 cup port wine
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Melt red currant jelly; add shallots, julienned orange and lemon zest and fresh grated ginger. Mix mustard in wine and add to currant jelly. Add orange and lemon juice and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Season with salt and cayenne pepper.

Once a recipe gets to be 10 years old, you have to change it up a bit. This year, instead of zesting the citrus, I cut it into bite-sized strips. I strained the citrus out of the sauce and put it in a dish on my counter. I think those candied citrus bites are even more tasty than the Cumberland Sauce!
"chewing gum and duct tape"

Offline Front-Ranger

  • BetterMost Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 30,288
  • Brokeback got us good.
Re: The Condiment Aisle: Cranberry Sauce, Relishes, Chutneys....
« Reply #86 on: November 29, 2020, 05:52:25 pm »
We Brokies sure do like our cranberries! So I wanted to turn you on to a cute article about them:
https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/11/21/18105316/canned-jellied-cranberry-sauce-ocean-spray?fbclid=IwAR1TqhbNL3N0qfFCSaEok9OLtQcLtDIJAPw4LUgAExUBWBU0tgYlxaerlMI

People get nostalgic for the canned jellied cranberry "sauce". Two things they love about it are the indentations of the can present on the sides of the "sauce" and the sound it makes as it is coming out of the can.  :laugh:

Another trivia fact: they're called cranberries because the stem and berry part, in the field, look like the head and neck of a crane!

How do I know this? Well, I used to work for a citrus cooperative and we would visit other cooperatives oftentimes. So I visited Ocean Spray, a co-op, and witnessed the harvest in the bogs!
"chewing gum and duct tape"

Offline Front-Ranger

  • BetterMost Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 30,288
  • Brokeback got us good.
Re: The Condiment Aisle: Cranberry Sauce, Relishes, Chutneys....
« Reply #87 on: December 18, 2021, 01:31:14 pm »
Sigh...I can't decide which kind of cranberry relish to make for Christmas. Maybe I'll make this one because it's Jacques Pepin's birthday today!

I decided to make a different condiment this year.  After many years in a row of making my usual fresh cranberry-orange-ginger relish, I made a cranberry chutney this year.

Cranberry Chutney

This recipe is adapted from one by Jacques Pépin.

Boil two bags of washed and picked over cranberries in 8 oz pomegranate juice.  (Can use cranberry or orange juice or even water.)
Boil till they burst.
Add two chopped granny smith apples (skin on)
Add about 1/4 cup brown sugar (can use more if desired)
Add the zest of two lemons.  Discard the white pith and slice the lemon flesh and add that.
Add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes (optional, but adds nice heat)
Add a good chunk of ginger, minced
Finally, add a couple tablespoons balsamic vinegar.

Let simmer until thick.

This was a big hit at my college gang's 33rd annual pre-Thanksgiving last weekend.
"chewing gum and duct tape"

Online southendmd

  • Town Administration
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 18,962
  • well, I won't
Re: The Condiment Aisle: Cranberry Sauce, Relishes, Chutneys....
« Reply #88 on: December 18, 2021, 04:45:36 pm »
Happy birthday, Jacques!

I'm making his cauliflower gratin for some non-meat-eaters. 

Offline serious crayons

  • BetterMost Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 22,711
Re: The Condiment Aisle: Cranberry Sauce, Relishes, Chutneys....
« Reply #89 on: December 18, 2021, 09:43:48 pm »
Sigh...I can't decide which kind of cranberry relish to make for Christmas. Maybe I'll make this one because it's Jacques Pepin's birthday today!

I've had and love both, so you can't go too wrong. Maybe it's a matter of reading the room: delicious version of a comforting classic or intriguing and sophisticated new direction? Which way would your guests go?