Cranberry Strawberry Jam

Sweet strawberries are always the life of the party, and we've invited tart cranberries as well, making for a bright red taste explosion. This jam is ultra flavorful, and it will cause your sun-starved salivary glands to kick into high gear.

Cranberry Orange Jam with Crystallized Ginger

What I like best about this jam is that tastes a lot like orange marmalade, but it only takes a fraction of the work to make. The secret is to pulse whole unpeeled oranges into a pulp in the food processor. To make it even more festive, I added a cinnamon stick and a generous handful of chopped crystallized ginger.

Cranberry Quince Chutney

This wintry chutney, spiced with clove and bright with cranberries and tangerine, is versatile for the holidays either as a gift or on a cheese tray. Plus, the natural pectin in the cranberries helps it set even with a short cooking time, so you can spend less time preserving and more time partying

Pickled Cranberries

Pickled cranberries are something special. They take the natural sweet-tart nature of this little red berry and amplify it.

Raspberry Rhubarb Ginger Jam

Crystallized ginger melts into this tart raspberry-rhubarb jam, providing unexpected hints of heat and spice. The flavors are big and bold, so it would work best with straightforward baked goods that won't compete.

Blueberry Lavender Jam

Lavender transforms ordinary blueberry jam into preserves that are positively romantic. Delicate and floral, it would be perfect with scones, croissants, or crostini with fresh ricotta.

Strawberry Kiwi Jam

This recipe is one that I adapted slightly from the National Center for Home Food Preservation. Strawberries and kiwis are simmered together with lemon juice and a bit of crystallized ginger is added for kick. Try it with sweet breads like brioche or challah, or serve it alongside pancakes.

Mulberry Jam

Mulberries are a smaller, less tart cousin of the blackberry, and can be foraged from mulberry trees which grow in residential area of cities in the northeast. If you have access to these bountiful (and free!) berries, try them in this jam, which brings out their earthy, sweet flavor.

Rustic Apricot Jam

This recipe yields a very chunky, rustic jam that relies entirely on the fruit's natural pectin, in concert with sugar, lemon juice, and heat, to set perfectly. This jam works well with Blenheim apricots, or any other small, freestone apricot (apricots that have pits that pop out easily, rather than clinging to the flesh).

Spiced Cranberry Sauce

For this variation, add spices like cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves as well as orange juice and zest, then finish it off with a bit of spiced rum. The end result is incredible: a cranberry sauce that has a multidimensional array of seasonal flavors that fits seamlessly into any Thanksgiving meal.