FOOD

the six samples we tested. Another said it Useful contacts was jelly-like in consistency and tasted more like a sweet jam than cranberry Food Safety sauce. Authority of Ireland Abbey Court Lower Abbey Street Marks and Spencer Cranberry Sauce Dublin 1 Score: 3.5/5 marks. Cranberries: 31%. Advice 1890 336 677 Price: €2.09 for 215g / €0.97 for 100g. tel (01) 817 1300 Our tasters said this product was fruity fax (01) 817 1301 but too sweet. One said it tasted more email [email protected] like jam and was too sweet to be called www.fsai.ie cranberry sauce while another said that it tasted artificial. Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute Ocean Spray Original Cranberry Sauce Ashgrove House Score: 3.5/5 marks. Cranberries 30%. Kill Avenue Dun Laoghaire Price €1.99 for 350g, €0.57 for 100g. Co. Dublin Our tasters generally found this product email [email protected] less sweet than some other products they www.indi.ie Cranberry sauce tested. However it was slightly too bitter Cranberry sauce is traditionally eaten with roast turkey and ham for some, and one taster even said it tasted sour. at Christmas. We look at what’s available in the shops and provide a recipe for you to make your own at home. Superquinn Cranberry Sauce Score: 2.5/5 marks. Cranberries: not given. Cranberries are popular in their many intend to use them for a while. Cooked Price: €1.49 for 200g, €0.75 for 100g. different guises, from dried fruit to juice. cranberries can last up to a month in a None of the tasters found this product However, they are best loved served as covered container in the refrigerator and too sweet but one said it was bland while cranberry sauce, as an accompaniment to even longer if cooked with alcohol. another found it too sour. The consistency turkey on Christmas Day. Cranberry was also mentioned and it was found to sauce is also delicious when served with Taste test be too grainy. chicken, goose, duck or pheasant. Consumer Choice bought six varieties of pre-prepared cranberry sauce in Tesco Cranberry Sauce Health benefits supermarkets for our panel to taste. We Score: 3.5/5 marks. Cranberries: 47%. Cranberries contain nutrients such as kept the brand names a secret from the Price: €0.75 for 200g / €0.38 for 100g. antioxidants, fibre, and vitamins making testers and they tasted each cranberry Our tasters said this product was very them a good choice for health conscious sauce with turkey slices and on its own. sweet for a cranberry sauce but consumers. One of the most widely The taste and consistency of each product commented on the fruitiness of the quoted benefits of cranberries is the role was considered and scored out of a product which they liked. This was the Report by € they play in the prevention of urinary maximum of five marks. There was no cheapest product at 0.38 per 100g. Sinéad Mc Mahon cc tract infections (UTIs). In the 1990s, clear winner - all the products bar one researchers at Harvard Medical School scored 3.5 out of 5 marks. Personal taste and Rutgers University found that can vary significantly, so it is worth trying cranberries have specific properties that a few different brands before deciding on € cranberry sauce recipe stop the bacteria that cause UTIs from your favourite! sticking to cells in the urinary tract. This leads to the bacteria being flushed out of Ballymaloe Cranberry Sauce It is quite easy to make your own cranberry sauce at home. The the body. It is not yet clear how long the Score: 3.5/5 marks. Cranberries: 60%. sauce is made with boiled cranberries which pop when cooking, juice must to be taken in order to be Price: €3.09 for 310g / €1.00 for 100g. resulting in the thickening of the sauce. Other ingredients may be effective or what the required dose is. This product was the dearest at €1.00 per added including spices, the juice or the zest of citrus fruits, sliced 100g and it received mixed reviews. One almonds, ginger, maple syrup, and cinnamon. Storing cranberries taster said it was too jelly-like and sour. Fresh cranberries should be firm and However, another said that this one The most basic recipe to which added ingredients of your choice plump. They can range in colour from tasted the most natural and was much can be added is as follows: light to dark red. Cranberries contain a better than the rest. It had the most fruit natural preservative called benzoic acid (60%) of the products we tested. • Boil two cups of sugar with two cups of water for five minutes. so they can stay fresh for a relatively long • Rinse one pound of cranberries and add to the sugar/water time. However, if one cranberry starts to Chivers Traditional Cranberry Sauce mixture. decay it will quickly affect the others. Score: 3.5/5 marks. Cranberries: 25%. • Boil for a further five minutes. Store them in a sealed container in the Price: €1.00 for 220g / €0.45 for 100g. • Transfer mixture to a clean jam-jar and refrigerate for 3 hours refrigerator where they will last for up to One taster said this was their favourite or more. eight weeks or freeze them if you don’t although it had the least fruit (25%) of

FOOD DECEMBER 2009/JANUARY 2010 consumer choice 451