Cranberry Apple Ginger Chutney for Thanksgiving and Beyond
Thanksgiving just wouldn’t be the same without tart, sweet and luscious red cranberries on the table. Be they cranberry sauce, relish or chutney. Intensely flavored Triple-Delish Cranberry Sauce has graced our holiday table for many years. This year it has its first serious competition.
Equally chunky and complex flavored Cranberry Apple Ginger Chutney will take its place. With its just-right balance of tart, sweet, ginger and spice, deep crimson Cranberry Apple Ginger Chutney brightens both the palate and the plate.
Retain the pop
Keith Dresser, the executive food editor of Cook’s Illustrated, created a genius technique a few years back. He discovered how to retain the satisfying pop and burst of flavor from whole cranberries in a long cooked recipe for cranberry chutney.
Dresser suggested cooking half the cranberries in the beginning with all of the diced apples. As they cook, the mixture thickens and the cranberries lose their shape. After that the rest of the cranberries are added along with the minced crystallized ginger for the last few minutes of cooking. You then have the best of both worlds. A richly flavored base with lots of whole cranberries for texture and delight.
Mincing crystallized ginger
Using a knife to mince crystallized ginger starts off okay. But once the ginger begins sticking to your knife the process becomes a bit frustrating and tedious.
Or, you can quickly mince the ginger my way. Use a food processor fitted with the S-blade. With the processor running, drop the pieces of crystallized ginger all at once through the feed tube. Run the processor until the ginger is minced, about 30 seconds. The clump of minced ginger readily disperses once you stir it into the hot chutney.
9 Ways to enjoy Cranberry Apple Ginger Chutney beyond Thanksgiving
- As an appetizer with soft goat cheese or ripe brie and crackers and apple slices.
- Of course, with turkey or chicken sandwiches or wraps.
- Spread on one side of the bread of a grilled cheese sandwich.
- Layered with yogurt and toasted, chopped walnuts for a yogurt parfait.
- Heated and spooned over ice cream or Greek yogurt.
- As a condiment for an Indian meal.
- Spread on toast in place of jam.
- Blended into smoothies.
- By itself, on a spoon.
Cranberry Apple Ginger Chutney
A deliciously complex blend of naturally tart cranberries and pungent fresh ginger sweetened with diced apple, a little honey and crystallized ginger. Inspired and adapted from a recipe by Keith Dresser in Cook’s Illustrated.
As with many Indian chutney recipes, vinegar is also one of the ingredients. In freshly made chutney the vinegar tastes a bit sharp. Let Cranberry Apple Ginger Chutney sit in the fridge for at least two days before serving it. The apple cider vinegar mellows leaving the chutney tasting bright and flavorful.
Makes 3 cups Printer-Friendly Recipe
Start to Finish 35 minutes
Ingredients
12 ounces (3 rounded cups) fresh or frozen (defrosted) cranberries
1 teaspoon coconut oil
3 tablespoons minced purple onion
2 teaspoons very finely minced fresh ginger
½ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup water
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
½ cup light, local honey
1 cinnamon stick
1-2 Fuji, Gala, Braeburn, Granny Smith or similar apples, peeled, cored and ¼-inch diced (2 cups)
1/3 cup minced crystallized ginger
Preparation
Rinse the cranberries and let them drain. Discard any discolored or soft berries.- Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the minced purple onion. Cover the pan. Cook 1 minute.
- Stir in the fresh ginger and salt. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring once or twice.
- Mix in the water, vinegar, honey and cinnamon stick. Raise the heat so the mixture fully simmers, with bubbles around the sides and the middle as well. Stir in half of the cranberries and all of the diced apples.
Continue to simmer this mixture for about 15 minutes. It will thicken and the cranberries will lose their shape. - Fold in the remaining half of the cranberries and the minced crystallized ginger. Cook at a full simmer for 5 minutes until the cranberries just burst.
- Refrigerate Cranberry Apple Ginger Chutney for at least two days before serving.
- You can store Cranberry Apple Ginger Chutney in the refrigerator for about 3 weeks. Or store it the freezer for 6 months.