Cranberry Syrup
Cranberry syrup comes from cranberry juice, water and sugar and is available in most health food stores. It has a dark-red color and is very sweet. In most recipes you can substitute grenadine or raspberry syrup.
Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus Oxycoccus of the genus Vaccinium. In some methods of classification, Oxycoccus is regarded as a genus in its own right. They can be found in acidic bogs throughout the cooler regions of the northern hemisphere.
Cranberries are low, creeping shrubs or vines up to 2 metres (7 ft) long and 5 to 20 centimetres (2 to 8 in) in height; they have slender, wiry stems that are not thickly woody and have small evergreen leaves. The flowers are dark pink, with very distinct reflexed petals, leaving the style and stamens fully exposed and pointing forward. They are pollinated by bees. The fruit is a berry that is larger than the leaves of the plant; it is initially white, but turns a deep red when fully ripe. It is edible, with an acidic taste that can overwhelm its sweetness.
Cranberries are a major commercial crop in certain American states and Canadian provinces (see cultivation and uses below). Most cranberries are processed into products such as juice, sauce, jam, and sweetened dried cranberries, with the remainder sold fresh to consumers. Cranberry sauce is regarded as an indispensable part of traditional American and Canadian Thanksgiving menus and some European winter festivals.
Since the early 21st century within the global functional food industry, raw cranberries have been marketed as a “superfruit” due to their nutrient content and antioxidant qualities
Cranberry Syrup Recipes:
Cranberry Syrup Recipe #1
Ingredients
3/4 cup honey
1/4 cup cranberry juice
1 cup cranberries
1/2 orange – zested
Directions
Bring honey, orange zest and juice to a boil over medium high heat in a saucepan.
Add 3/4 cup of cranberries to the mixture and cook for 5 minutes or until the cranberries start to pop.
Stir in the remaining 1/4 cup of cranberries.
Remove from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes.
Serve warm over your favorite pancakes or waffles.
Cranberry Syrup Recipe #2
Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup cranberry juice
1/2 cup light corn syrup
Directions
In a saucepan, combine the sugars and cranberry juice; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 4 minutes. Add corn syrup; boil and stir for 1 minute longer. Serve over pancakes, French toast or waffles. Yield: 2 cups.
Cranberry Syrup Recipe #3: Holiday Cranberry Syrup
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups cranberry juice
1 cup cranberries
3/4 cup light-colored corn syrup
1/4 cup sugar
Directions
1. In medium saucepan, combine cranberry juice, cranberries, corn syrup and sugar. Stir to dissolve sugar. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium. Boil gently, uncovered, 30 to 40 minutes or until reduced to 2-1/2 cups.
2. Pour syrup through a fine-mesh strainer or strainer lined with 100-percent-cotton cheesecloth. Discard cranberries. Cover and chill syrup at least 3 hours to cool completely or up to 1 week.
Cranberry Syrup Recipe #4: Honeyed Cranberry Syrup
Ingredients
1-1/2 cups honey
½ cup cranberry, orange, or grape juice
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, divided (do not bother to thaw if using frozen cranberries)
Directions
In medium saucepan, combine honey and juice. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir in 1-1/2 cups of the cranberries and cook until cranberries pop, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in remaining ½ cup cranberries and let sit 5 minutes before serving. This sauce reheats nicely. Makes 2 cups.
Cranberry Syrup Recipe #5:
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 (750-milliliter) bottle ruby port or other sweet red wine
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1 tablespoon thawed orange juice concentrate
1 teaspoon chopped peeled fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves, chopped
Preparation
Combine the sugar and the port in a Dutch oven. Bring to a boil, and cook for 4 minutes or until the sugar dissolves. Add the cranberries, orange juice, ginger, and garlic, and cook over medium heat until reduced to 3 cups (about 20 minutes). Press the cranberry mixture through a fine sieve over a bowl, discarding solids.
Note: Cranberry Syrup can be stored, covered, in refrigerator up to 1 week.
Cranberry Syrup Recipe #6:
Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 cup cranberries
1 stick cinnamon
Directions
Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally pressing down on cranberries with back of a spoon to help break them down and dissolve sugar. As soon as liquid begins to boil, remove from heat and strain. Discard solids and let liquid cool completely before using.
Cook’s Note: Cranberry syrup can be kept in an airtight container, refrigerated for up to 1 month.
Cranberry Syrup Recipe #7: Cranberry Syrup for Cocktails
Ingredients
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 ½ cups cranberries
Directions
1. Equal parts of sugar and water are warmed until dissolved, then add two parts of cranberries. Simmer for a couple of minutes, let it cool, then strain through cloth.
2. Can also be replaced with simple syrup and cranberry juice.
3. Store in refrigerator up to two weeks. If it last that long.
Cranberry Syrup Recipe #8: Cranberry Ginger Syrup
Ingredients
1 12 oz bag cranberries, washed
1 large knob ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp cardamom
1 tsp cinnamon
Directions
In a medium size stock pot add all of the ingredients. Bring to a boil and then quickly reduce the heat to low. Simmer with the pot covered for 30 minutes. In a food processor (or blender) blend the ingredients together and pass through a strainer. Store in the fridge.
