This recipe for Three Fruit Relish was an unexpected surprise and has become a Thanksgiving staple for me. The cranberries, apples and raspberries provide the perfect alternative to cranberry sauce at the Thanksgiving table. This side dish has such bright flavors and melds perfectly it just makes you happy when you eat it! It’s a great recipe – super easy to put together and a thanksgiving staple for me.
It all began at my Mom’s House in Florida one Thanksgiving…
What do you mean – we aren’t having Thanksgiving at home????? This is what I said to my mother many many thanksgivings ago – way before I was married and likely in the 1990’s. I’d traveled to Florida from Chi-town to have Thanksgiving with my parents and was just learning we would be having a pot luck thanksgiving dinner out. I was so bummed. My mom did a mean turkey with all of our family traditional fixin’s. Now we were going to eat with who-knows-who and have I-don’t-know-what pot luck for thanksgiving??? It sounded like a HORRIBLE idea to me. I thought to myself, I bet half those people don’t even know how to cook! Baked frozen pies, unsalted mashed potatoes, stuffing with I don’t know what in it and various other untraditional, un-delicious foods were expected.
I painted a smile on my face as best as I could and off we went. I don’t even remember what my Mom brought. I was very carefully selecting items for my plate, keeping quiet and hanging in the background, having very low expectations. And, then it hit me. BAAAAM. I go get my Mom. Did you try this? It is excellent. It’s fruit! It’s Delicious. Oh my Gosh. We have to find out who made this and get the recipe. My mouth was doing a happy dance and I couldn’t believe something so yummy was there – in the most unexpected of places ! It’s like a party in your mouth.
Part of the surprise, I think, was that until that point I’d not had a good cranberry anything. My Mom’s traditional cranberry sauce came from a can (rings and all) and was typically placed on a fancy crystal plate – in no disguise. I NEVER ate cranberry – and why do they call it sauce when it looks like a version of cranberry jello? But my Dad liked it and Mom didn’t “prepare” cranberries so it was what it was. But now – All of a sudden I knew that cranberries were excellent!
Off we go to get the hostess – Lois
Lois – do you know who made this? It’s excellent and so very delicious I’d LOVE to have the recipe. Come to find out Lois made it – and it’s easy and she’d be happy to share the recipe. Oh my – I was so happy to have found something special on that pot luck table!
Lois quickly became a favorite Spring Hill (over 55 community) neighbor – I’d wanted to talk food and find out how she is doing etc. Seems Lois was quite the feisty one – after many more years passed, she was unfortunately diagnosed with Cancer and was placed in Hospice. I was lucky enough to be in town and Mom and I went to visit her in Hospice. She said she didn’t know what in the hell she was doing there since she felt fine and wanted to go home! Which she did – a week or so later – as it took her that long to convince the folks she wasn’t that sick! She went home and as I remember, she lived happily at home for many many more months going along with her routines. Until the day came, when she really did need to be in hospice. I very much remember Lois and her spicy attitude and can see why she was such a good friend of my Mothers.
Many many years have passed since Lois first gave me that recipe (printed off her computer in color!) I have ensured that 3 fruit relish is on my Thanksgiving table since. Here’s a picture of the original recipe. But of course – I just can’t leave well enough alone and have more specific directions below – and less sugar !
One important note !
Please make this the day before thanksgiving. The sugar has to sit with the fruit and the flavors have to meld. Stir it a couple of times between making it and serving with dinner.
(The original recipe appears to have been from a Taste of Home magazine – no info on the date on my hardcopy).
Three Fruit Relish (Cranberries, Apples and Raspberries)
Ingredients
- ½ C Sugar
- ½ C Marmalade
- 1 Tsp Lemon Juice – Fresh
- 12 oz Cranberries – Bag, Sorted, Cleaned and Finely chopped
- 2 C Raspberries – Fresh
- 2 Medium Apples – Tart – Diced
Instructions
- Clean and dry the raspberries. Put them into a large bowl.
- Peel and chop the apples into raspberry (or smaller) pieces
- Add the sugar to the fruit.
- Add the marmalade. Generally marmalade is made from fruit and peel of citrus fruits boiled with sugar and water. BUT… sometimes you can find more interesting marmalades and I've experimented – and just love adding those with additional / related ingredients. Keep your eyes peeled when at Marshall's and Home Good's etc.!
- Clean and sort the fresh cranberries – removing shriveled berries or those with brown spots.
- Place cranberries into a mini food processor, large food processor or rough chop by hand. Doing it by hand will take a while – using a mini processor is super quick and easy. Lightly process the cranberries – to break them open and keep them in medium / large pieces.
- Put the chopped cranberries into the bowl with the rest of the fruit.
- Add a small squeeze (1 Tsp) of lemon juice and stir gently. You don't want to break up the beautiful raspberries!
- Leave the "relish" sit overnight – and serve the next day with your thanksgiving meal. Your mouth and tastebuds will thank you !