Food

Discover the Ultimate Christmas Condiment: Cranberry Jelly.

To continue this Christmas series on iconic foods, I’ve chosen to tackle a great favorite in North America (and elsewhere, I suppose!): the cranberry. Where does the famous cranberry jelly that goes so well with turkey and meat pies come from?

Gelée de canneberges
Photo: Karolina Grabowska

As with my article on the Christmas pickle published a few weeks ago, I was a bit disappointed when I researched the history behind this holiday food… I was expecting to discover a relevant and fascinating anecdote! But in the end, it seems that cranberry and turkey go well together… that’s all!

A Wild Fruit Native to North America

I have a confession to make: I hated this condiment for a long time… until I ate a homemade version. Like so many things, canned cranberry jelly isn’t edible! Homemade makes all the difference! So my love for this jelly is fairly recent.

Honestly, all North Americans should learn to cook cranberries. It’s a little local fruit that, granted, may not grow in your garden, but it’s local.

But Audrey… I don’t like cranberries.

I know, on its own, it’s not great. And that’s why you have to tame this ingredient. Browse through recipes and discover how to prepare this wonderfully healthy fruit with amazing preservative properties.

Canneberges
Photo: Jessica Lewis

The First Nations used cranberries to treat scurvy: half a cup of this fresh fruit a day is enough to meet an adult’s daily vitamin C requirements. Tired of citrus? Now’s your chance! What’s more, it’s a fruit that alleviates the symptoms of urinary tract infections, ulcers and many oral problems: wow!

To find out more about the effects of cranberries on your health, check out this website.

In short, cook with cranberries. It’s local and good for you.

Link to Christmas

I’ve searched and searched, but there doesn’t seem to be any particular origin linking this fruit to our festivities. The first written record of this accompaniment (which may seem strange) comes from a 1796 book: the very first American cookbook. It includes a recipe for turkey to be “served with cranberry sauce”. So, that’s the origin of this famous jelly…!

I found for you the exact page where this “cramberry-fauce” is mentioned in the famous book: American Cookery, or the art of dressing viands, fish, poultry, and vegetables, and the best modes of making pastes, puffs, pies, tarts, puddings, custards, and preserves, and all kinds of cakes, from the imperial plum to plain cake: Adapted to this country, and all grades of life. (That’s the real title of the book!). Source: tpr.org

Still, I dare to speculate that since it’s local and easy to preserve, it was more accessible than the mango, also suggested in the book.

Still, I’ve got a nice Christmas fun fact for you (to make up for the lack of cranberry connection to Christmas, you know!)!

Turkey for Christmas

Do you know why we eat turkey at Christmas? It used to be traditional to eat poultry for this holiday. The first ships that imported turkey to Britain were… you guessed, from Turkey!

JPhoto: ASHISH SHARMA

In short, turkey replaced goose at the tables of Europe’s wealthiest citizens, since this new poultry was exotic, expensive and, therefore, a symbol of wealth.

Let’s face it, traditional turkey is dry 90% of the time… The king’s cooks must have known cooking secrets we don’t even know about to make a menu worthy of replacing the goose!

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Audrey Martel is a biologist who graduated from the University of Montreal. After more than ten years in the field of scientific animation, notably for Parks Canada and the Granby Zoo, she joined Nature Conservancy of Canada to take up new challenges in scientific writing. She then moved into marketing and joined Leo Studio. Full of life and always up for a giggle, or the discovery of a new edible plant, she never abandoned her love for nature and writes articles for both Nature sauvage and the Laidback Gardener.

7 comments on “Discover the Ultimate Christmas Condiment: Cranberry Jelly.

  1. I admire your ability to convey such detailed information in an accessible way.

  2. Just read your article on why you wouldn’t work on a cranberry farm in which you referred to this article, so I had to search for it and voila. Imagine cooking a turkey over an open fire, we are so spoiled. First Nations know the health benefits of so many plants. I am glad this one survived because I love cranberries in all forms.

  3. Joanne Vis

    I have really been enjoying your articles about Christmas traditions. It is interesting to learn where they really come from and how most of them have nothing to do with the birth of Jesus.

  4. Have you tried playing Wordle? This is a pretty popular game these days. Every day, a new word needs you to decipher. If you get stuck because you don’t know how to play or can’t guess the word of that day, Then wordle hint is a perfect choice; wordle hint can help you with any difficulty about how to play or how to get to the answer as quickly as possible.?

  5. Have you tried playing Wordle? This is a pretty popular game these days. Every day, a new word needs you to decipher. If you get stuck because you don’t know how to play or can’t guess the word of that day, Then wordle hint is a perfect choice; wordle hint can help you with any difficulty about how to play or how to get to the answer as quickly as possible.?

  6. I wonder why all the ‘s’s were replaced with ‘f’s? Almost sounds like the writer is speaking with a lisp. Quite the title for the book but I bet you it was a treasured possession for those learning to cook.

  7. Roy Murray

    Great article. I’m impressed with the sophisticated recipe and ingredients. Cooking without an oven must have been a lot more difficult.

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