By Antony Worrall Thompson
Cranberries are the deep-red, tart fruit of a low, scrubby, woody bog plant. They are a winter berry that has become synonymous with the Christmas table for many. The bulk of the world's cranberries are now cultivated, mainly in certain parts of Canada and North America, but cranberries can still occasionally be found growing wild.
Christmas veggie Wellington
Turkey breast stuffed with Italian sausage and Marsala-steeped cranberries
Vegetarian nut roast pie with cranberries
Maple, pecan and cranberry granola
Mini parmesan, mascarpone and cranberry scones
Stilton-stuffed mushrooms with cranberry relish
Easy chicken liver pâté
Sticky cranberry sausages
Lime and cranberry bread and butter pudding
Baked Welsh cake cheesecake
Christmas brownies
Breakfast muffins
Biscotti with hot mocha dipping sauce
Sicilian lemon and orange sweet bread
Ginger fizz
Cranberry and Cumberland sauce
One of the remarkable properties of fresh cranberries is their ability to keep for months on end in a cool place. This is because they contain large amounts of benzoic acid, which is a natural preservative.
The essential thing to remember when cooking cranberries is that sugar toughens their skins, so it's best to cook them until tender and then add sugar to taste. In the US, cranberries are simmered in sauces, mixed into bread- or meat-based stuffings for turkey, added to muffins and baked in fruit tarts and pies. Their astringent taste also makes them a good addition to naturally sweet puddings: orange or lemon zest bring out the floral notes of the fruit, while vanilla and cinnamon enhance their sweetness.
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