Cranberry syrup and cranberry jam

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 1 kg cranberries, fresh
• 1 kg sugar
• ¾ liter of water
• 1 m.-sized lemon(s), untreated
• ½ vanilla pod(s)

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Cooking/baking time approx. 20 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 20 minutes

Sort and wash the ripe cranberries. If there are a lot of unripe berries among them, let them ripen for a few more days. Bring the berries to a boil with the split vanilla pod, sugar, and water until the berries burst. Then add the lemon juice and a piece of lemon zest (without the white part) and simmer gently for about 15 minutes. Now you can strain 0.5–0.75 l of syrup and immediately bottle it while it’s still hot. There will still be enough juice left for the jam. Test the setting with the remaining fruit puree and let it reduce a little longer if necessary. Remove the lemon zest and vanilla pod. If you like, you can also puree the berries at this point to make cranberry jam. Immediately fill prepared twist-off jars while they are boiling and seal. I use the syrup as a sauce over ice cream, for mixing, or diluted as a fruit juice drink. The jam goes well with game dishes, pan-fried dishes, cheese or for refining roasts and barbecue sauces.