Spicy Cranberry Jam
from Gourmet Preserves Chez Madelaine, by Madelaine Bullwinkle

Why should the cranberry be relegated to salad molds when it makes such a zesty preserve? This jam recipe is quite easy to prepare, and it makes a terrific topping for Pecan Muffins or English Muffins.

You could easily freeze this cranberry jam and serve it as a festive and colorful palate freshener at the beginning or end of a rich winter meal.

Yield: 6 cups

2 pounds cranberries
1/2 cup water
Bouquet garni: 1 4-inch cinnamon stick, 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed, 2 whole cloves, 3 allspice berries, 1 slice ginger
4 cups sugar

Pick over and remove bruised cranberries before weighing them. Rinse them and combine with water in a heavy, non-reactive 4-quart pan. Cover the pan, and bring berries to a boil. Submerge bouquet garni in the cranberry mixture. Uncover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Stir in the sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, allowing the jam to return to the boil before adding more. Partly cover the pot if jam begins to spit. Continue to cook until the jam thickens and temperature rises to 214 degrees F., but no more than 20 minutes.

Off heat, let the spices steep an additional 5 minutes before removing them. Pour the jam into hot, sterilized jars to within 1/4 inch of the lips. Wipe the rims clean, attach new lids, and screw the caps on tightly. Invert the jars briefly for a quick vacuum seal, or process in a boiling water bath, submerged by 1 inch, for 10 minutes.