Jasper White's Cranberry Onion Jam

With 16 people needing to be fed on Thanksgiving, we decided to make two cranberry sauces. Can you ever have too many? Our traditional sauce is lovely - full of citrus notes and toasted nuts - and comes from my step-mother's grandmother. If sauces had personalities, the traditional sauce would be a dainty Southern lady and the cranberry onion jam be a flannel-shirted lumberjack. These are ridiculous metaphors, yes! But I dare you to try them both and see if you don't agree.

The recipe comes from a clipping that might be among my oldest ones. It dates back to an article Amanda Hesser wrote in 2000. The silky, savory jam has an acidic kick from cider vinegar and the vermilion bloom of tart cranberries. The caramelized onions add another layer of sweetness and tang. It's a delightful little condiment that makes even tired, 4-day-old turkey taste good while eaten on that most gastronomic of locales: a Greyhound bus.

Make sure you ignore the cooking times that Jasper White specifies at each stage - his version will leave you with a mess of parcooked onions and mostly unpopped cranberries.

Comments

[lindy]

Thwarted by circumstances beyond my control, I didn't get to make the family Thanksgiving at my house this year. I can't do without the leftovers, so I'm making a slightly smaller version of the Large Roasted Bird Event for some friends this weekend.
This is going to be my cranberry sauce. It sounds great.

[Luisa]

Lindy - I hope you like this. It's got great flavor and is a bit untraditional, but good... Have fun with your Thanksgiving redux!

[Lindy]

Just tasted this-i made it for this evening. It is really, really good. I am going to make sandwiches with this and roast pork and arugula tomorrow.
It is a favorite combination, and I think this will be even better on it than the cranberry chutney I usually use. Thanks for the recipe.

[Jessica]

I just made this tonight for Thanksgiving on Thursday and it's so yummy! I wanted to make something a little untraditional. I've also taken the butternut squash pie recipe from your site and I will engage in that tomorrow!