Dried Cranberry Jelly/Jam (No Gelatin!)
Recipes with cranberries are essential to make for Thanksgiving. Do you need one at the last minute? It is the quickest and easiest recipe using dried cranberries. Whether you sieve them or not, you end up with cranberry jelly or jam. Which one would you prefer?
Servings 4 servings (¼ cup)
Calories 274kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cup Dried cranberries
- 4 cup Water
- ½ cup Cane sugar or coconut sugar
- 1 Tbsp Agar agar powder
- ¼ tsp Cinnamon optional
Instructions
- Soak dried cranberries in hot water to wash away the oil + sugar that store-bought cranberries are coated with. (You can skip this step, if you buy organic unsweetened craisins like this one here.)
- Take a saucepan and add soaked craisins, water, and cane sugar.
- Bring them to a boil and simmer for 5-6 minutes until the dried cranberries are soft.
- Use a hand blender and blend it until smooth.
Making jelly
- Take a fine mesh sieve and strain it to separate the pulp from the juicy cranberry sauce. Gently but firmly push it against the sides to work efficiently.
- Transfer the strained cranberry sauce back to the saucepan and add agar-agar powder. You can use the pulp to add to your oatmeal, for example.
- Bring it to a boil and simmer for 5-6 minutes to activate the agar-agar. Then pour your cranberry sauce into a silicone mold, jar, or tin can. Watch out, as it sets pretty quickly!
Making jam
- Skip straining and add agar-agar after blending.
- Bring it to a boil and simmer for 5-6 minutes to activate the agar-agar. It will thicken into a jam consistency. Perfect!
Video
Notes
For more variations and flavor ideas, read the post above the recipe card.
Top tips
- Why do you need a thickener? → Cranberries usually have natural pectin, making a great sauce or jam without any thickener. However, add extra pectin, gelatin, or other types if you require jelly consistency. Since we are a vegan blog, we prefer to use plant-based thickeners like agar-agar powder.
- How to use agar-agar? → Like any other thickener, it also requires heat to activate it. This means you should heat any liquid with agar-agar over medium-high heat for 5-6 minutes. Unlike starch, where you can see the mixture thickening immediately, you will not see any changes in texture with agar-agar during this 5-6 minutes. However, it sets quickly(!!!). So prepare your mold in advance, as you will not have time to search for it later!
- Do you need a unique strainer? → We use a regular fine-mesh strainer. A chinois strainer or a food mill also works.
Nutrition
Serving: 4servings (¼ cup) | Calories: 274kcal | Carbohydrates: 76g | Protein: 0.2g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Sodium: 16mg | Potassium: 53mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 69g | Vitamin A: 0.4IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 1mg