5 Ingredients or Fewer

cranberry orange relish

by:
November  3, 2009
0
0 Ratings
  • Serves many, many as a side dish
Author Notes

Ah, the Internet is wonderful. Google "faintly sticky" "Indian Trails" to see the recipe for cranberry orange relish I posted to the mod.recipes newsgroup in 1986. Some copies are unattributed, and at least one catastrophically omits the sugar, but there it is, my good old recipe, which I use to this day. Let me repeat the story: "In Chicago, where I did much of my growing up, there was a company called Indian Trails that made a frozen cranberry relish, and their relish was traditional at my family's Thanksgiving dinner. When I moved to Boston I missed it. So I determined when next I went back to find a package of Indian Trails, read the label carefully, and duplicate the ingredients.
Alas, the company had gone bankrupt in my absence and there were no packages anywhere in any reputable store. But I knew about the disreputable stores as well, so I took myself over to 47th Street and sure enough there in the frozen foods section I found a pink-marbled, faintly sticky package of Indian Trails cranberry relish, undoubtedly thawed out and re-frozen at least a dozen times.
Eagerly I snatched it up, eagerly I read the mysterious ingredients: cranberries, oranges, sugar. (This was before the days when they would have boasted No preservatives! No artificial ingredients!) I returned to Boston. I tried it: cranberries, oranges, sugar. Based on the original experience with Indian Trails, I assume my home-made version would freeze admirably."
Now Google "Indian Trail" (Trail, not Trails) "cranberry relish" to see what's become of the story since then. Meanwhile, I still make cranberry relish by my old recipe.
mcvl

Continue After Advertisement
Ingredients
  • 1 pound cranberries (fresh or frozen)
  • 3 oranges, seeded but not peeled
  • cane sugar to taste
Directions
  1. Grind up the cranberries and oranges coarsely in your meat grinder or food processor.
  2. Sweeten the mixture with sugar till it tastes nice to you.
  3. Serve the cranberry relish very cold.
Contest Entries

See what other Food52ers are saying.

1 Review

Kayla November 17, 2015
This is my family's great "secret" "heirloom" recipe as well! Mama says to make 3-4 days in advance, with a good stir once a day before Thursday. I'd trust her on that one.