I’m a experimentalist by nature. I rarely follow a recipe to a T. I never take the time to read directions. And I will generally try anything once. And this might be why I’ve fallen in love with fermenting things. It’s pretty difficult to have something be a complete failure and it’s easy to adjust with time and temperature.
Today, I’m sharing a recipe for a fermented cranberry topping. This is actually the first time I thought I may have had a fermentation failure on my hands. I opened and tasted it at the seven day mark and boy was it not good. Unless you’re into cranberries that taste like rubbing alcohol. I almost threw it out, but figured I had invested in the ingredients, prep, and fermentation time so far. What did I have to lose by letting it ferment longer?
Fast forward a month and SUCCESS! I have myself a jar of fermented cranberry topping. It no longer smells of or tastes like alcohol. In fact, it smells like fall and Thanksgiving to me. The addition of cloves, cinnamon, and orange juice are aromatic!
You may be thinking, that sounds good but what would I use it for?
That’s a great question. And so far, I’ve used it two different ways.
The first is on top of yogurt. The creaminess of full fat greek yogurt mellows out the tartness of the cranberries, so you can really taste the orange, cinnamon and clove flavors.
I’ve also used it in my daily smoothies! Depending on the add-ins, sometimes I notice the cranberries and sometimes I don’t. It’s nice to know I am getting a little extra vitamin C by including them though. In my usual smoothie of spinach, water, greek yogurt, unsweetened coconut flakes, protein powder and ground flax seeds, I will get hints of cranberry and orange. If I add in blueberries, I don’t notice those flavors.
Now, anotherway I want to try it is on top of vanilla ice cream! I think that would be amazing. Please let me know if you give it a try. 🙂 Ok, on to the recipe.
For Fermented Cranberry Topping, you’ll need:
- 4 cups cranberries
- 1 cinnamon stick, cracked
- 1″ hunk of ginger
- zest of 1 small lemon
- juice of 1 large orange
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/3 cup raw honey
- filtered or spring water
First, add the cranberries, cinnamon stick and ginger to your food processor and pulse a few times. Just until everything is roughly chopped.
Then transfer mixture to a glass jar.
Next, add thelemon zest, orange juice, sea salt and honey to the jar.
Be sure to use a non-iodized salt and raw unpasteurized honey. This is important in ensuring the contents of the jar will actually ferment.
Fill the rest of the space with filtered water, leaving about 1″ of head room at the top.
Cap the jar and shake until everything is combined. Then remove the cap and add weights and an airlock device. I used the Pickle Pusher from Ultimate Pickle Jarfor this recipe. It’s an “all in one” weight and airlock device. It uses a plunger to hold everything under the brine plus a lid and airlock so you can get a true anaerobic environment for your ferment. It worked like a charm and I loved that I didn’t have to rig up any sort of weight. I will note that after posting this photo on Twitter, the maker of the Pickle Pusher reached out to me to let me know it’s generally meant to fit closer to the top of the jar. I just didn’t have quite enough “stuff” in the jar! It still did it’s job anyway.
Let sit at room temperature for approximately 30 days, then move to the refrigerator. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.
Don’t forget the vanilla ice cream!
Fermented Cranberry Topping
Prep Time 15 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Author Alana - The Wild Gut
Ingredients
- 4cupscranberries
- 1cinnamon stickedcracked
- 1inchhunk of ginger
- zest of one small lemonor half large lemon
- juice of 1 large orange
- 1tspsalt
- 1/3cupraw honey
- filtered water
Instructions
Add cranberries, cinnamon stick and ginger to food processor and pulse a few times
Pack mixture into quart sized jar
Zest one small lemon and add to jar
Juice one large orange and add to jar
Sprinkle 1 tsp salt into jar
Add 1/3 cup raw honey into jar
Fill with filtered water leaving about 1 inch of head room
Cap jar and shake to combine ingredients
Remove cap, add weights and cover with airlock or similar device
Let sit at room temperature for approximately 1 month and then move to the refrigerator
FAQs
Both the berries themselves, and the thinned, red-stained honey, can be used in salads, desserts, and tea, or just eaten off the spoon. These would serve as a beautiful alternative to a traditional cranberry sauce at an autumn feast.
How long does it take for cranberry juice to ferment? ›
Sprinkle the wine yeast over the surface of the juice and then cover with a thin, clean towel. Allow this mixture (must) to ferment for 5 to 7 days. You should start to see some foaming activity within 24 hours of adding the wine yeast.
Is cranberry hard to ferment? ›
Cranberries are tough to penetrate, so this will give the fermentation a bit of a head start. I did this by poking them with a fork all over, but you could also give them a couple of pulses in a food processor. Frozen cranberries can be used instead of fresh, but it is best to thaw them before adding the honey.
What can be fermented in honey? ›
dates and figs (add water, at a rate of 3% of the weight of the honey to ensure fermentation ) garlic. ginger (and/or other rhizomes like turmeric) jalapenos / hot peppers, or fruit with hot peppers.
Is it safe to drink fermented cranberry juice? ›
Is it safe to drink fermented cranberry juice? - Quora. It is most certainly safe!
How do you use wild cranberries? ›
Highbush cranberries make a beautiful jelly and are popular in many prod- ucts. The berries aren't used in pies and other baked goods because of the large, flat seeds. However, they combine well with other fruits and when used with less plentiful berries like raspberries, currants and rose hips enhance their flavor.
How much alcohol is in fermented cranberry juice? ›
It also fermented at the slowest rate. The juices with the most sugar, purple grape juice and white grape juice (15% sugar) each produced the greatest yield of potential alcohol (8%). Cranberry juice had the lowest sugar content (7%) and produced the least amount of potential alcohol (0.25%).
Can you drink slightly fermented juice? ›
Fermented orange juice can be safe to drink if it is made and stored properly. Fermentation is the process by which yeast and bacteria break down the sugars in the juice, producing alcohol and carbon dioxide.
How much alcohol is in fermented juice? ›
Fermentation produces lots of alcohol. Fermentation will convert the sugar in grapes (or other fruits) into alcohol. You will get a little over half the volume of sugar as the final alcohol number. So if you start with about 24% sugar in the grapes, the resulting alcohol will be in the 12.5 to 13% range.
What is the easiest fermentation? ›
Sauerkraut is one of the simplest fermented foods to make. It only contains two ingredients – cabbage and salt – although sometimes caraway seeds are added too.
Once the cranberries have reached the level of tartness you want, likely somewhere between 5-8 days, remove them from the bag and strain the liquid into separate containers. Store in the fridge for 4-7 days without much change in taste. To prevent further fermenting, store them in freezer bags with the air removed.
Why can't I tolerate fermented foods? ›
Amines are created by certain bacteria to break down the amino acids in fermented foods. The most common ones found in probiotic-rich foods include histamine and tyramine. Some people are sensitive to histamine and other amines, and may experience headaches after eating fermented foods.
Is it OK to eat fermenting honey? ›
If it gets moisture in it, it may ferment, but this doesn't make it unsafe to eat. Just don't be surprised if it tastes a bit funky. Make sure you store your honey correctly in an airtight container at cool room temperature and you'll be good to go for years to come.
Can I add honey during fermentation? ›
Adding honey to the fermenter:
Add the honey directly to your fermentor, perhaps a Big Mouth Bubbler, and stir gently, expect a renewed fermentation within a day or two. This will leave more residual sweetness and a more intense honey character in your beer.
What is a fermented honey and water drink called? ›
Mead (/miːd/), also called hydromel (particularly when low in alcohol content), is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey mixed with water, and sometimes with added ingredients such as fruits, spices, grains, or hops.
How do you eat sour cranberries? ›
Fresh cranberries
- Fresh, raw cranberries can add a pleasant bite and burst of color to any dish. ...
- If they're too tart for you, you can chop them and add a little sugar or any other sweetener.
- You also can cook them into roasted vegetable platters, pilafs, baked goods, jams, and marinades.
Highbush cranberry is used as an ornamental plant and valued for its edible fruits. The fruit is commonly gathered from wild stands in late August or early September, best when picked slightly under- ripe (and sour), and used in sauces, jellies, and juices.
How do you store fermented cranberries in honey? ›
Stir the honey into the orange juice, so that it forms one uniform syrupy liquid. Then pour to cover the cranberries completely. As the cranberries ferment, it can bubble up a bit, so make sure to leave a little head space from the to of the jar. Cover jar with a loose lid and ferment at room temperature for 2-6 weeks.
