If you love fermented foods, then Fermented Cranberries in Honey are a must try! They have a wonderful sweet and tangy flavor that presents beautifully, especially during the holiday season and on any holiday table! The best part of this fermented cranberry sauce is there are only two ingredients and require minimal effort!
While the holidays may have just passed as it’s currently January here in New England! I still have a few bags of cranberries in my refrigerator. So I am continuing to make these Fermented Cranberries in Honey for as long as I can. The sweet but tangy flavor pairs beautifully was savory dishes and pairs nicely with some homemade bread, such sourdough or Italian bread.
Fermented foods are becoming more popular as having a healthy gut microbiome becomes more important. Research shows, your immune system is formed in the gut. Therefore, having a healthy balance of good bacteria versus bacteria becomes essential.
Ingredients
Cranberries – 1 cup of whole fresh cranberries. Rinse with water to remove any debris.
Honey – use raw honey that has not been pasteurized or processed, as you want the bacteria from the honey to help facilitate the fermentation process.
Equipment
Clean sterilized jar: such as a canning jar or glass jar with lid. Use a jar that is big enough to allow at least an inch of headspace. For the measurements above I use a pint-size mason jar.
How to Make Honey-Fermented Cranberries
Gather your cranberries. The skins of the cranberries are quite firm so you want to break it a little bit by pricking with a knife or toothpick, slightly smashing with a potato masher or by placing the cranberries in a food processor and giving a couple of pulses. I like to give mine a few pricks with a toothpick, as I prefer mine to remain whole.
Place cranberries in the prepared jar. Slowly pour the honey over the berries allow the honey seep through each berry. As the honey settles, add more honey to ensure the cranberries are covered. Once you have covered the cranberries with the honey, screw the cover on the jar tightly and flip the jar over a couple of times, this ensures all the cranberries are covered with the honey. Next, loosen the top and leave a room temperature out of direct sunlight. As the cranberries ferment, pressure may build in the jar so you want to allow for the cover to expand if needed.
Allow to ferment for at least 1-2 weeks. Tighten the lid and turn the jar everyday or so to ensure the cranberries remain coated in honey. Then tighten the lid again.
The fermented cranberries will have delightfully sweet and tart flavors, while the honey has a beautiful red color.
How to I know the Cranberries are Fermented?
You will start to see tiny bubbles which is a good sign that fermentation happening. The yeast and the sugar from the honey begin to release carbon dioxide creating bubbles.
Using a clean spoon, taste test your cranberries. There should be a sweet but tart flavor at about one week. You can continue to ferment longer, but it is recommend to taste every couple of days to determine your flavor preference. The average time to ferment cranberries in honey is 1-2 weeks. However, some will allow theirs to ferment for a month. I prefer mine at about 1 1/2 weeks.
Storage
Once you have reached the flavor you want, store the fermented cranberries in the refrigerator. This will stop the fermentation process and help preserve the cranberries at the state they are at. They can be store in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.
Fermenting cranberries will make them last longer in the refrigerator.
Good for the Gut
Fermentation creates natural probiotics that are excellent for gut health. As stated above, research shows, your immune system is formed in the gut. Therefore, having a balance of good bacteria in the gut to enhance the immune system is key. Check out this article by Stanford Medicine, which discusses that fermented foods where seen to reduce inflammatory markers.
Ways to Use Fermented Honey Cranberries
- One of our favorite ways to use our Fermented Cranberries in Honey is one a slice of sourdough bread with some melted brie, topped with fermented cranberries drizzled with the honey brine.
- Heavenly addition to yogurt.
- Add to a salad with some goat cheese.
- Use in place of traditional cranberry sauce on a Thanksgiving table.
Additions to the Fermentation Process
While I love the simplicity of this method, 2-ingedients! You can completely customize this recipe by adding, some minced garlic and herbs. Or by adding a cinnamon stick with some orange zest.
Botulism is very rare in fermented foods, however if you are concerned then I would recommend using ph strips to test your batch. Botulism cannot occur in a ph that is less then 4.6.
If you notice your ph starting to get too high then you can add a little bit of raw apple cider vinager to bring it down a bit. I test my batches at 1 week using these ph strips.
Other Cranberry Recipes You Might Like
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup Cranberries, whole rinsed
- 1½ cups Honey, raw – not pasteurized possibly a little more to cover cranberries
Instructions
- Gather your cranberries. The skins of the cranberries are quite firm so you want to break it a little bit by pricking with a knife or toothpick, slightly smashing with a potato masher or by placing the cranberries in a food processor and giving a couple of pulses. I like to give mine a few pricks with a toothpick, as I prefer mine to remain whole.
- Place cranberries in the prepared jar. Slowly pour the honey over the berries allow the honey seep through each berry. As the honey settles, add more honey to ensure the cranberries are covered.
- Once you have covered the cranberries with the honey, screw the cover on the jar tightly and flip the jar over a couple of times, this ensures all the cranberries are covered with the honey.
- Next, loosen the top and leave a room temperature out of direct sunlight. As the cranberries ferment, pressure may build in the jar so you want to allow for the cover to expand if needed.
- Allow to ferment for at least 1-2 weeks. Tighten the lid and turn the jar everyday or so to ensure the cranberries remain coated in honey. Then tighten the lid again.
- You will start to see tiny bubbles which is a good sign that fermentation happening.
- Using a clean spoon, taste test your cranberries. There should be a sweet but tart flavor at about one week. You can continue to ferment longer, but it is recommend to taste every couple of days to determine your flavor preference. The average time to ferment cranberries in honey is 1-2 weeks.
- The fermented cranberries will have delightfully sweet and tart flavors, while the honey has a beautiful red color.
- Once you have reached the flavor you want, store the fermented cranberries in the refrigerator. This will stop the fermentation process and help preserve the cranberries at the state they are at. They can be store in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.
- Enjoy!
