Thread: Cranberry salad
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Gregory Gadow
 
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Default Cranberry salad

Julie Bove wrote:

> I have been trying for a couple of years to re-create the carb rich
> cranberry salad that my Mom makes. Hers has orange Jell-O, oranges and
> apples in it among other things. I think I finally hit on a suitable
> substitute with just the right amount of sweet, tart and crunch. Yum, yum!
> And I'm not a Jell-O lover either. But this salad is so packed with crunchy
> stuff, the Jell-O does little more than add flavor and hold it all together.
>
> Cranberry Salad
>
> 1 box (4 servings) Cherry Sugar Free Jell-O
> 1 cup coarsely chopped cranberries
> 2-3 packets of Aspartame or other sweetener
> 1 T. lemon juice
> 1 T. lime juice
> grated lemon peel (dried), about 8 shakes
> grated orange peel (dried) about 8 shakes
> 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
> 1/2 cup coarsely chopped celery
>
> Prepare Jell-O as directed on package. Put in refrigerator or freezer to
> chill and thicken slightly. I put mine in a glass loaf dish, but you can
> use a medium sized bowl or even a mold.
>
> Put cranberries in bowl or large mixing cup. Add sweetener, juices and
> peels. Mix well and let sit for a few minutes. This gives the sweetener a
> chance to sort of melt into the berries. Add pecans and celery. Mix again.
>
> After Jell-O has slightly thickened, add other ingredients and mix well.
>
> Allow to set up and enjoy!
>
> Note: In previous versions, I tried using fresh grated zest from lemons and
> oranges. For some reason, this didn't give as good a flavor as the dried
> kind. I also found that the cherry gelatin with the addition of the juices
> gave a far better flavor than the orange gelatin alone.
>
> I don't know the carb count of this offhand, but a 1/2 cup serving would be
> plenty and not very carby at all. Now I just have to go make some more
> because I've eaten it all!


I've been making something like this for years :-) It is a nice replacement for
cranberry sauce and has almost no carbs at all.

My variation involves pureeing about 2/3 of the cranberries in a food processor
without any added sweetener. Chopped that finely, the Jell-O by itself provides
the needed sweet. The rest are coarsely chopped for "crunch" and a bit of
surprise tartness. I will also add some peeled, chopped apples, one of the tart
varieties, to add some flavor (and fiber) without too many carbs.

Also, see if you can find the sugar-free cranberry flavor. Many stores don't
carry it normally, even during the winter holidays, but a polite special request
might work. Or you can try ordering it on-line (http://www.jello.com takes you
to the appropriate part of Kraft's website.)

Another fun touch is to use very chilled club soda or flavored seltzer instead
of plain water. With a bit of practice, you can end up with "sparklies"
throughout. The cranberry-lime selzter (Canada Dry, I think) works very nicely
with cherry Jell-O.
--
Gregory Gadow

http://www.serv.net/~techbear

"If you make yourself a sheep, the wolves will eat you."
-- Benjamin Franklin