[Recipe] Spiced Cranberry-ginger sauce (good for Turkey, Cocktails, and Veg)

I wasn’t ready to deal with Thanksgiving when we had the post a week ago, but now I am.

Every year I buy fresh cranberries and make a tangy/spicy/sour sauce that I adore and put on everything. The old polish folks in the family won’t eat it. Too spicy. My better half uses it for everything from tofurkey topping to spice for banana smoothies.

It is sort of a combo of the following recipes:

Stuff:

12-16 ounces cranberries, bruised ones discarded, rinsed and drained
small amount of water
1/4-1/2 cup honey
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate and/or a juiced orange and its zest
1 inch (1/2-1 tablespoon) grated fresh ginger or to taste
4 green cardamom pods OR 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 star anise OR 1/2 teaspoon ground
2 clove spikes OR 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (if you grate it yourself, it is less than a 1/2 nut)
1/4-1/2 tsp ground allspice

Steps:

Rinse the cranberries and remove any bruised berries.
In a small lidded pot add honey, salt, and enough water that the bottom of the pot is well covered (about 1/2 inch of liquid).
Only if using whole spices: add the clove spikes, anise, and cardamom pods. Otherwise, save the ground versions for later.
Dump the ginger and cranberries in the pot, cover, and set to simmer/low-boil (a medium low).
Stir and check after about 5 minutes to estimate how long they will need. With some stove-top/pot combos, you have to go low and slow to avoid burning the berries, but other equipment can get them safely cooked in as little as 10 minutes. Try to squish a few to get an idea. We want a thick mix because we still have orange to thin it. but if we add it now, the flavor will dissipate. Add a splash of water as needed so we have a gooey paste and not a solid.
When the cranberries start softening, stir in nutmeg and allspice and other ground spices: clove, anise (save the cardamom for later if using ground).
When a good number of cranberries have burst, add the orange component and ground cardamom (if not using pods) near the end and turn off the heat.
Give it a minute, then stir and taste. Is this the level of tangy/spicy/not-too-sweet that you desire?
Correct sweetness/spices as needed.
Remove whole spices (anise, cloves, cardamom)

NOTE: When you add the orange and turn off the heat, it should be a pretty thick goo, and all that pectin will make it gel MORE as it cools, so you end up with a semi-solid akin to chunky jello.

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