Cranberry Vanilla Jam

(Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten-Free, Soy-Free)

INGREDIENTS:

§  1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise (or 1 tsp pure vanilla extract)

§  3 ½ cups fresh or frozen, unthawed cranberries

§  1 ½ cups fresh orange juice

§  ½ cup water

PREPARATION:

1.       With tip of a sharp knife, scrape vanilla seeds from pod into a 2-qt. heavy saucepan.
Add pod and remaining ingredients and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickening, about 20-30 minutes.

2.      Puree jam through a food mill set over a bowl OR force it through a fine-meshed sieve, pressing on the solids, occasionally scraping the bottom of the sieve with a spatula to get every last drop. Discard the cranberry skins and vanilla pod. Cool, stirring occasionally. Store in a jar in the refrigerator.

Tons of tiny little vanilla seeds

Cranberries, sugar, orange juice

Orange juice and vanilla, flavors melding

Add them berries!

Sugar...very important!!

Mix it all together

Boil it and watch it turn pink and foam up!

Cook it all down reeeeally soft

Time to make jam

I don't have a foodmill so I'm

using a sieve and a spoon. It's

time-consuming, but it works

Finished mashing/straining. Here's the finished

 ratio of jam to discarded skins and vanilla pod

Pretty, isn't it?

Warning: This jam has a very strong vanilla taste,

so if you wanted more cranberry flavor I suggest

using only a small piece of the vanilla bean pod

or cutting it out completely

BUT, for those of you who like vanilla....

This should be quite satisfying