Cranberry Compote – Preserve Cranberries

Author:
is a chef, food photographer, cookbook author and blogger.
Here he shares recipes, answers cooking questions and helps with cooking.

Welcome to my Cranberry Compote Recipe.

A fast cooked compote, which will delight you in autumn and winter as a side dish.

I like the red berries! The great heather plant has a unique sourish-harsh taste.

No wonder it is very popular.

Especially in the USA it is an indispensable ingredient for Thanksgiving as a sweet addition to the Turkey.

So let’s go into the kitchen now and quickly conjure up a great compote. I wish you all the best!

1. Cranberry, the large-fruited Berry introduces itself

Cranberries are not cowberries and you can either juice or boil the fruits.

Some time ago I had given a recipe for cowberries as part of a development of recipes.

The experimental kitchen used the easily available cranberry instead. Of course the recipe didn’t work, that can happen 🙂 if you use pears instead of apples!

Additional information: Did you know that cranberries can swim? This should make the harvest much easier.

The value contribution of the great red fruits to maintaining urinary tract and bladder health was often discussed.

In fact, the power of efficacy is still open. Other positive aspects can hardly be argued away 🙂

Fresh cranberries contain a lot of vitamin C, vitamin A and antioxidants!

Tip from Chef Thomas Sixt
Cranberries freshly photographed in a bowl. © Thomas Sixt Food Photographer

2. Preserve Cranberries

Our aromatic wonder berries make a fine compote that will enrich your food on your plate in autumn and winter.

You can also add it to your muesli or use it for baking! And isn’t it wonderful: You don’t need much time and only a few ingredients.

How long do you cook cranberries? The fruits burst open during cooking: plop, plop… That sounds almost like preparing popcorn.

List of Ingredients for Shopping and Kitchen Checks

Now you can let the compote steep for another 10 minutes and then fill it up.

Boiling cranberries is easy. Selected spices complement your preparation and make the culinary difference! © Thomas Sixt Food Photographer
The vanilla pod and the scraped vanilla pulp conjure up a fantastic aroma in your fruit preparation. Promise! © Thomas Sixt Food Photographer
The compote tastes really delicious, you can eat it by the spoonful or combine it with yoghurt. © Thomas Sixt Food Photographer

2.1 How durable is my Cranberry Compote?

You can store my compote in the fridge for 3 days. For a larger stock I take this way:

2.2 Variations of Compote, Add Apples!

Kranbeeren – so the German designation – can be prepared in different ways. You can use the berries to make compote, jam or jelly. In the cake they also taste great as a direct inlay. Here I would like to introduce you to the classic variant of processed fruit.

Spicessugar, cinnamon, vanilla, star anise, cloves, cardamom, lemon peel zest, orange peel zest
Liquidlemon juice, water, sherry, rum, orange juice
Fruit Friendspear, apple, orange
Fits to…turkey, poultry like duck and goose, game, braised beef, camembert, blue cheese, mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts, chestnuts, rice pudding, yoghurt, cake
The fine berries are perfectly compatible with apples in terms of taste. You can add a few pieces of apple to your recipe! © Thomas Sixt Food Photographer

3. Recipe Cranberry Compote

The following is a step-by-step guide for you and the recipe with exact ingredients. Have fun and good luck!

Cranberry Compote

Cooked, photographed and written down by chef Thomas Sixt.

Servings 2
Calories 83
Total Time 215 Min.
Preparation Time 15 Min.
Cook Time 20 Min.

Simple guide to prepare cranberry compote.

Rate Now!

4.98 from 1051 ratings

Cranberry compote in a glass
Cranberry compote Recipe Image © Thomas Sixt

Ingredients

1000 g Cranberries
500 g brown sugar (I take raw cane sugar)
300 ml Water (still water or tap water)
1 pc Lemon (I use an organic lemon for juice and lemon peel abrasion.)
1 pc vanilla pod, the vanilla pulp
2 pc cloves
1/2 stick cinnamon
2 pc Star Anise

Instruction

cranberries fresh
Cranberries photographed fresh in a bowl. © Thomas Sixt Foddfotograf

Prepare berries

Prepare the ingredients.

Wash the cranberries
Wash cranberries under cold running water.

Wash

Wash 1 kg cranberries well.

Squeeze lemon juice
Squeeze lemon juice with the juicer.

Prepare lemon

Finely grate the peel of 1 lemon and set aside the lemon peel for further use.

Then squeeze out the lemon.

Vanilla pod and vanilla pulp close-up

Prepare vanilla

Halve a vanilla pod with a sharp knife.

Scratch out the vanilla pulp with a knife.

Add the vanilla pod and vanilla pulp to the berries
Add the vanilla pod and vanilla pulp to the berries

Add sugar

Add the vanilla pulp and 500 g brown sugar.

Cinnamon - cinnamon stick close-up
Cinnamon Sticks

Add cinnamon

Break open a cinnamon stick lengthwise with your hand and halve it.

Anise, anise stars close-up
Anise stars

Ad anise

Add 2 pieces of star anise.

Cloves

Add cloves

Add 2 cloves.

Cranberries in the pot with spices for compote
Boiling cranberries is very easy, a few spices add to your preparation and make the difference!

Prepare cooking

Put all ingredients in a high pot.

Reduce the cranberries
When the cranberries are cooked, the fruits will burst.

Cook compote

Heat cranberries, lemon juice, sugar, 300 ml water and spices on the stove.

Stir with a wooden spoon while cooking.

When the berries burst, reduce the heat and allow to steep gently for about 20 minutes to develop the flavour.

Stir at least once every 5 minutes.

Cranberries compote
The cranberry compote served in a bowl.

Serve

Arrange for direct consumption in small bowls.

Remove cinnamon, anise and cloves.

Cranberry compote in a glass
I will show you how to cook down cranberries in this recipe post step by step with lots of photos.

Preserve in Jar

To preserve the compote, pour it into clean preserving jars while it is boiling hot and screw together quickly.

Enjoy your meal!

If your schedule allows it, leave the compote next to the stove for a good 2-4 hours after cooking to mature.  The aromas will develop even better.

Then heat up again strongly. The fruit preparation should boil for a good 3-5 minutes. Then pour into the clean preserving jars and quickly close with a screw cap.

Let the glasses cool down and hide them 🙂

4. Nutritional Information

5. Recipes to match this Dish

Cranberry compote harmonises excellently with the following dishes…

Venison roast
Boeuf a la mode
Red cabbage
Carpaccio
Goat cheese salad

Other fruit preparations:

Comments, Cooking Questions and Answers

4.98 from 1051 ratings

Below you can write to me directly.
Please don’t forget the star rating on the recipe, 5 stars means you liked it!