It's almost Thanksgiving! Cranberries are in season! And we're taking a tiny break from Greek cooking because I want to share cranberry habanero jelly with you. Hell yeah.
For me, this jelly has nothing to do with the holiday really, but cranberries = fall and cranberries also = cranberry sauce as a Thanksgiving side, so this could be a fun alternate to the classic Thanksgiving side.
The first time I had cranberry habanero jelly was back when I lived with a friend named Tom and he brought some home from his parents (hi Tom). His mom made it and I was in love. Whenever he visited home and came back with more jelly, it was a struggle for me to not eat it all! Seriously. The combination of spicy and sweet is ridiculously addictive. My favorite way to eat it is over crackers, especially Carr's whole wheat crackers. There's something about the light sweetness of those crackers that pair really well with this jelly.
I'm hungry now. BRB - going to eat some crackers and jelly.
Tom hasn't been my roommate for a few years now, so I have to fend for myself when I want this tasty jelly, which I'm okay with now because it's easy to make! Before I started making this myself, I just dreamed about eating it for a while. Yes, I dream about food. Don't you?
Last year for the holidays, I made a huge batch of this, canned it, and gifted it to friends. I will probably do the same this Christmas, but the recipe I'm sharing with you is a smaller batch, no canning necessary! It will keep up to a month in the fridge though. Whether or not it lasts that long outside of that is up to you. I won't judge you if you decide to sleeve some crackers with a bunch of jelly. Sounds like a rad Saturday night to me!
Making jelly is as easy as throwing the ingredients into the pot over the stove and letting it cook while stirring every so often with occasional squishes using your spoon. You'll know it's done because there won't be any liquid left and the jelly will stick to the spoon. It will look like what's pictured below.
Just be careful when working with habaneros. You should absolutely use food-safe gloves because no matter how much you wash your hands, the oils from those hot peppers can and will linger on your skin for a while. And you don't want to have hot pepper oil on your finger and touch your eye after that. I may have done that once or twice. I don't recommend it. 🙂
Ingredients
- 16 ounces cranberries
- 4 - 5 habaneros
- 1 - 1 ½ cups sugar*
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Wearing food-safe gloves, slice the habaneros in half lengthwise and remove stem, seeds, and ribs. Mince and set aside.
- In a medium sized pot, add all the ingredients and place on the stove over medium-high heat for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. The berries will start to burst!
- Reduce heat to medium and let cook another 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally and using the back end of the spoon to squish the berries (I use a slotted spoon).
- The jelly is done when the mixture has thickened and there is no liquid that drips off the spoon.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge. It will keep up to one month.
Notes
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Hi Marissa! I swear I left a comment about this and you replied, or maybe I'm more senile than I thought! Anyway, we love making jams, but I think I would start out with fewer peppers, just to get a feel for it! I honestly think that's what I said before. ??
Hi Dorothy! I promise you're not going crazy. You did leave a comment and I replied! I ran into an issue with a plug-in today and had to restore a backup of my blog from yesterday because of it, which unfortunately deleted any comments that came in (that was out of my control). I'm glad you came by again though! I think starting out with fewer peppers is totally fine; I tend to like things with some heat at times, but getting your own feel for it sounds like a good plan.
aaaaaah - the pepper hands in the eyes!! I know that horrific feeling all too well. habaneros in cranberry sauce? this sounds amazing!
I knowwwwww, it's the worst feeling! But the cranberry/habanero combo is worth it to me. 😀 Thanks, Kristina!
I'm not usually excited by cranberry sauce but you've got me with this one! I just might add it to my thanksgiving table this year! I'm smoking the turkey and I'm developing a cranberry BBQ sauce to accompany it but I think your Cranberry Habanero Jelly would also be delicious with smoked turkey, don't you think? Thanks for the great recipe!
Whaaaaat, that all sounds delicious! Mind if I come crash your party? I looooove smoked meats. Let me know how the recipe comes out if you make it. <3 Thanks, Lisa!
I love this! I definitely enjoy savory applications with cranberries!
Thanks, Jenn!
I love the idea of a spicy cranberry relish. It will go great with my tday meal!
Thanks, Kathy! Let me know how you like it if you make it. <3
Made this for thanksgiving and it was delish! Thanks for the recipie! Think I'll be okay to triple it?
Awesome! So glad you liked it. I think tripling it should be fine. I made a huge batch last year to gift to friends and basically did just that. Let me know how it goes if you do it!
Hello there
Can I can this recipe in a water bath method ?
Hi Joe! I've never tried it in a water bath myself, but I did a quick google search and found a couple of recipes both on Anova and ChefSteps' sites, so I imagine it's possible! Here's one example from Anova: https://recipes.anovaculinary.com/recipe/sous-vide-strawberry-rhubarb-jam
I hope that helps!
I’ve made this three times in the last year and it’s easy and tasty. Problem is we have to wait for September to roll around and get our hands on fresh habanero chillies... such a long wait between batches
What is the minced green ingredient shown in the photo (mint)?
Hi Dave! I just noticed I never answered your question - apologies for the delay! The green shown was actually habaneros from my container garden. Some of them never fully ripened by the time fall came, but they still held a decent amount of heat.
Made it 3x already! There’s just never enough of it. Wish habaneros were in season longer
So glad you enjoy the recipe! I also wish habaneros were in season longer - they're so, so good!
Is it possible to can these for future use?
Hi Yvonne! Apologies for the late reply; I'm on maternity leave and a bit slow to respond! Canning is absolutely possible. I used to link to another site with proper canning instructions but it's no longer available it seems. Sadly, I don't have my own source to link to. If you know safe and proper methods for canning, please feel free to do so! I've done this many times in the past to gift to friends and it worked out great.