Delicious fruits: cranberries and cranberries

They are really healthy and taste super delicious, what more could you want. However, a little bit of cooking is always in demand with these berries, because they do not really flatter the palate. The easiest way to enjoy them is as a juice, which you can buy, best in the health food store.

A refreshing drink goes like this: Quarter a lime and crush two pieces per person with a spoonful of brown sugar, add crushed ice and top up with cranberry juice. If you like it sparkling, take half juice, half tonic or soda. Tastes great, works great. It gets lively, also because of the high percentage of vitamin C. As a cocktail you take vodka and cranberry liqueur - and you have a cranberry kick.

As confit to terrines I like the berries the most from chicken or duck liver, because the slightly bitter-sweet taste calls for something acidic. For Confit, I take about 100 grams of brown sugar, which I melt with two tablespoons of water in a pot and caramelized lightly. When the sugar is light brown, add 300 grams of cranberries, stir and drop off with 50 milliliters of red port and a good shot of balsamic vinegar or 60 milliliters of rich red wine. I simmer over low heat for five minutes, put the cranberries in a bowl and put them in a cold place. The pectins that are contained in the berries, they gel and can be easily served to the terrine.

If you like, you can add some cinnamon, I personally like her fresh-fruity and natural. Cooked so well, the berries go well with duck and game. I love stuffed wild sauces with poached pears stuffed with cranberries, even if it's ultra-classic: Made with love, it's a true palate experience. I peel four pears, halve them and take out the case with a spoon, so that creates a nice round depression. In a light syrup of 500 milliliters of water, 200 grams of sugar and the juice of a lemon, I boil the pears for only about three minutes on low heat. Then I leave the lid on the pot and take it from the fire, so that the pears can go through a bit and thus remain nice and light. When I do my game, I just need to lightly heat the pears. Also the cranberry confit is warmed up and comes in the deepening of the pears. Voilà. Delicious and very practical. The confit tastes warm and cold.

To make the cranberry confit: 1. Caramelise the sugar in the pot. 2. Add the cranberries. 3. Stir everything well. 4. Finally, deglaze with red port and balsamic vinegar or with strong red wine.

Muffins with cranberries (or with cranberries or both) are also a very nice recipe. For this I mix 320 grams of flour, 40 grams of oatmeal and 200 grams of brown sugar. I add two teaspoons of baking soda, a quarter teaspoon of soda, a quarter teaspoon of salt and the grated peel of an unsprayed orange. In another bowl I hit a big egg with the whisk, add 180 milliliters of buttermilk, 180 milliliters of fine tasteless oil and the pith of a vanilla stick.

Now I butter the muffin forms or use paper. First, 180 grams of berries are added to the flour mixture, then the buttermilk-oil mixture. Attention: do not stir, because the dough should not be tough! It is immediately filled into the muffin molds and baked at 180 degrees in the oven for 15 to 18 minutes, depending on the size of the muffins. I let it cool slightly in the mold, take it out and serve it for coffee or tea. Enjoy it and stay alive and well.

By the way: You can get real cranberries on the market in autumn, and the recipes are just as good with cranberries. Sometimes I even prefer them because they shine so beautifully red when they're cooked ...