Fresh Cranberry Salad Recipe

• 1 12 ounce bag of cranberries, washed
• 1½ cup of sugar (or decrease to 1 cup)
• 1 entire orange, peel and pulp, seeded
• 1 package of flavored gelatin (strawberry, orange, lemon, or raspberry)
• 1 cup of boiling water
• ¼ cup of juice -- cranberry or orange (or substitute cold water)
• 1 8 ounce can of crushed pineapple 
• 4 stalks of celery, chopped or sliced thin
• 1 cup of nuts, coarsely chopped (pecans or walnuts)

Prepare the Orange

Cut the orange into at least four pieces. Remove any seeds, but do not peel. Put the entire orange -- peel and flesh -- into the Ninja food processor and grind. 

You can see from the photo on the right what consistency you are looking for. It's a fine mash but still with visible bits of peel.

Prepare the Cranberries

There is no need to wash the food processor bowl. Just add in the washed cranberries and chop them coarsely. Don't grind them to bits; leave some large chunks. Your cranberries will be a mix of finely chopped tidbits and larger chunks.

Pour the cranberries onto the chopped orange, and add the sugar. Stir and let the fruits macerate. I prefer less sugar, so I use only 1 cup. If you have a sweet tooth or do not like sour flavors, up the sugar to 1½ cups. Actually, mom's original recipe calls for 2 cups of sugar! But I truly think that is too sweet especially with the addition of flavored gelatin which is mostly sugar.

Chop the Celery

Wash and dry your four celery stalks and chop them into a fine dice or into thin slices. I prefer diced pieces just because it takes less precision on the cutting board than a fine slice. But this is a matter of personal preference. You do want fresh, crisp celery. Wilted and limp celery will not be appetizing in this cranberry salad. If your celery is limp, just leave it out of the recipe. It is still good without the celery. Add the celery to the fruits.

A Note about Pineapple

You cannot use fresh pineapple in this recipe because it has an enzyme that breaks down the gelatin. Your salad will never congeal and will instead be soupy. You must use canned (cooked) pineapple. There is no need to drain it. The recipe factors in the juice that is in the can. Just open the tin and dump it all into your fruits and celery mixture.

Prepare the Gelatin

Pour one cup of boiling water over the gelatin and stir to dissolve. [I keep an electric kettle on my kitchen counter so that I have instant boiling water for cooking (and for tea). See the link below for my Oster hot water kettle.] When the gelatin is fully dissolved, add in the ¼ cup of juice or cold water. 

Mix 

Now you need to mix all your ingredients together. You already have the cranberries, sugar, orange, celery, and pineapple in your large mixing bowl. Finally add the nuts and the gelatin. Stir to combine. Then pour into a casserole dish. Store the cranberry salad in the refrigerator to set. It takes several hours, so plan ahead on this recipe.