Cranberry Rum Jelly - that'll get your spirits up!

So, this isn’t the first time I’ve been teased as being a lush, but my husband had to ask me why I was making Cranberry Rum Sauce.  I told him it was to have more cranberries in my diet.  His reply was, “Do you need more rum in your diet or something??”

To better explain, cranberries were in season recently and I bought a lot of them.  Too much actually.  So, I made cranberry jelly and cranberry relish for the holidays, gave most of it away, and still had bags in my freezer.  I dug out my Ball canning book and the only other recipe for cranberries that appealed to me was the Cranberry Rum Sauce recipe.  It containing booze in it probably helped my decision.

But hey, I don’t channel Julia Child for nothing.

Since I modified the recipe, I can actually post it here on my blog.  No modifications = Ball suing Sarah = Sarah having a bad day.  But, I didn’t have cinnomon sticks or whole cloves and allspice, so here it goes:

Cranberry Rum Sauce – approx. yield is six 8-ounce (250 ml) jars

1 tsp ground cinnamon (or more to taste)

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/4 tsp ground cloves

2 cups granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups water

8 cups of cranberries (fresh or frozen)

2 large apples, peeled, cored and chopped (I used Pink Lady apples, which are tart, but if you like sweet cranberry sauce, use Fuji or Gala apples)

3/4 cup rum (I used a dark rum, but any rum will work.  If you don’t like the overbearing taste of rum, cut the amount in half and use white rum).

Step 1. Get your canning shit ready.  Or your freezer shit.

Step 2. In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine sugar, water, and spices.  Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly until the sugar is dissolved.  Reduce heat and continue boiling for five minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add the cranberries and apples.  Return to boiling and boil at medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until cranberry skins burst, which is about five mins.  Crush mixture with either potato masher, blender, or mixer.  I recommend the blender.  Return to pan, add rum, and bring to a boil.  Boil one minute and you are done.

Step 3. Ladle hot sauce into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.  Remove air bubbles by lightly tapping jar on counter and add more sauce if needed.  Wipe the rim.  Center lid on jar. Screw band down until restistance is met (not futile), and then tighten to finger tight.

Step 4. Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water.  Bring to boil and process for 15 mins.  Remove canner lid.  Wait 5 mins, remove jars, cool, label, and store.

-OR-

Step 3. Ladle into freezer containers and let cool.  (Make sure that you are never putting hot or warm items into your refrigerator or freezer – they can drastically increase the temperature and cause other items to spoil and bacteria to florish).  Label and store in freezer.

Cheers!