These honey fermented cranberries are a healthy, colorful, and delicious fermented recipe that is perfect for your Thanksgiving or holiday dinner. Fermented honey cranberries are made from nourishing real food ingredients, and are a wonderful recipe for gut health.
Want to save this post for later?
We'll send it to your inbox, plus get updates from us every week!
Fermenting Cranberries in Honey
It’s amazing to me how easy fermenting in honey is!
I’ve done all kinds of fermenting, and even have a recipe for fermented cranberries in a traditional brine. But for some reason, it took me a long time to ferment in honey. Well, I can tell you now that has changed and it’s one of my favorite cranberry recipes to make each year.
Here are more fermented honey recipes to try!
When I started my fermented honey garlic a while back, it got me thinking about what else I could ferment in honey.
I have seen recipes for berries in honey, and being that we’re coming up on the holiday season, fermenting cranberries in honey seemed like the natural thing to do.
I’m so glad I did because these fermented honey cranberries are awesome! This is probably how I will make my cranberries every year from now on.
Related: Canning Cranberry Sauce, Simple Spiced Cranberry Sauce, Quick Pickled Cranberries, Cranberry Champagne Cocktail
Fermented Honey Cranberries Recipe
Making these fermented honey cranberries is so easy that it hardly even needs a recipe!
The amounts are variable based on how much you want to make. I used a quart sized jar, and that seemed like a good amount to start with.
Prepare the Cranberries
The first step is to give the raw cranberries a little pop to break their skins and release some juices. Cranberries are tough to penetrate, so this will give the fermentation a bit of a head start.
I did this by poking them with a fork all over, but you could also give them a couple of pulses in a food processor.
Frozen cranberries can be used instead of fresh, but it is best to thaw them before adding the honey.
Add the Honey
Fill the jar with the cranberries, ginger slices, and cinnamon stick, leaving about an inch or so of head space.
Add in the orange juice (and the zest if you’d like as well), then cover the cranberries with raw honey.
It may take a while for the honey to make its way all down to the bottom of the jar, so you may need to wait a bit for it to settle, then add some more.
The cranberries will want to float to the top, but that’s ok.
Cover and Flip
Cover the jar tightly and give it a few turns to coat all of the cranberries in honey.
If you are using a metal canning lid, I recommend putting a piece of parchment paper in between the lid and and jar, as the metal can sometimes react with the fermentation process.
Then loosen the lid and put the jar in a dark corner somewhere. It would be wise to put it on a plate in case there is any honey overflow as it ferments, which is likely.
Every day or so tighten the lid and give the jar a few turns to coat the cranberries in honey again, then re-loosen the lid.
Within a few days to a week you will start to see bubbles forming in the jar! Sometimes the bubbles are very small or unnoticeable, but they usually do show up at some point.
The honey will turn a lovely red color and will become runnier as time goes on. The cranberries will start to lose some of their tartness and will become a bit more wrinkled.
These can be left to ferment for quite a while, several months even, and will be tastier as time goes on. I think the flavor even after just a few weeks was amazing!
Using Fermented Honey Cranberries
You can serve and eat these delicious fermented honey cranberries as is, or you can try putting them in a food processor to grind them up into more of a cranberry sauce.
I think I’m going to try that on Thanksgiving this year. It’s never a bad idea to get some fermented food in during a big meal!
If you are concerned about botulism, which is very rare in this type of ferment, use a pH test strip. Botulism spores can’t reproduce with a pH of less than 4.6. Honey is usually around 3.9, but that can vary between brands. Cranberries are also highly acidic.
If the pH is too high, add a splash of raw apple cider vinegar to add more acidity and retest. This is generally not needed, but I do want to mention it to ease any worries.
Honey cranberries should not be given to babies under one year of age.
Low on time and want an amazing, nonfermented, cranberry sauce recipe? This spiced cranberry sauce with orange and ginger is my favorite!
Have you ever fermented cranberries? What did you think of the result?
More Fermented and Infused Honey Recipes
Enjoy these other honey ferments and infusions!
- Fermented Elderberry Honey
- Herbal Infused Honey
- Fermented Honey Garlic
- Lilac Flower Infused Honey
- Fermented Ginger Honey
- Fermented Jalapeno Honey
- Fermented Honey Blueberries
Fermented Honey Cranberries
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups fresh cranberries skins slightly crushed
- 1″ knob ginger sliced
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 orange juiced
- 2 cups raw honey or enough to completely cover the cranberries
Instructions
- Break the skins of the cranberries to release some of their juices by either piercing the skins with the tines of a fork, or gently pulsing in a food processor.
- Place the bruised cranberries into a quart-sized mason jar. Add the ginger slices, cinnamon stick and orange juice and stir. Then pour in enough raw honey to cover the cranberries.
- Place the lid securely on the jar, then give it a few turns to coat all of the cranberries in the honey.
- Loosen the lid, then place the jar into a dark place to ferment. Every few days, tighten the lid, give the jar a few turns, then re-loosen the lid.
- Within a few days to a week you will begin to see small bubbles forming in the honey.
- The honey cranberries will ferment for a month or more, but you can eat them at any time. The honey will turn a red color, and will become more runny as time goes on. The cranberries will start to lose some of their tartness, and will become a bit more wrinkled.
- Store in a cool place for many months or even a year or more.
Notes
- It’s important to use raw honey for this recipe, as it has all of the bacteria and wild yeast that is necessary for fermentation.
- The small amount of orange juice will create just enough liquid for fermentation to happen.
- It’s a good idea to put a plate underneath the jar during fermentation, as it will likely bubble up and a little bit of honey could possibly drip out.
- If you are concerned about botulism, use a pH test strip. Botulism spores can’t reproduce with a pH of less than 4.6. Honey is usually around 3.9, but that can vary between brands. Cranberries are also highly acidic.
- If the pH is too high, add a splash of raw apple cider vinegar to add more acidity and retest. This is generally not needed, but I do want to mention it.
- Honey cranberries should not be given to babies under one year of age.
THIS recipe is so fun and delicious 😋
I made it last year around Thanksgiving and savored every drop so of course I made it this past Thanksgiving again! Wanted to share my new favorite way to use the cranberry honey: cranberry honey vinaigrette!! I used equal parts honey fermented cranberry and apple cider vinegar. I added a pinch of salt and a splash of elderberry syrup for added benefits and flavor. After emulsifying in a jar, I put it on a cranberry walnut spring mix salad and it was divine!
What a great idea! I’ll have to try that with my next batch. Thanks for sharing!
I love this recipe and my husband and I take some every day for health benefits. However, our last couple batches have turned into what I believe to be an alcohol? Maybe because we didn’t consume it fast enough? I only use fresh cranberries, and am very choosy in the quality of the Barry and I do not include any bruised, soft or white berries into the recipe. Smells like alcohol and bubbles like a mead when I stir it every 3 days. Thanks in advance for your insight.
Yes, depending on how much juice is in your cranberries, alcohol may occur, however likely a very small amount.
So the alcohol smell and taste are ok? Tastes pretty alcoholy.
I put a burping lid on my jar and it has been setting in cool dark place for a week. I haven’t stirred it or done anything else. It is liquidy now and at what point do I put a regular lid on it or will it always need burping?
It’s hard to say. One of the advantages of using a lid and not a fermentation lid is that you’ll know whether there are still bubbles (built up gases) coming up to the surface that need to be burped. When there are no more bubbles forming, that means it’s done fermenting.
I am so excited to try this! Don’t know if this was mentioned anywhere – but wondering, can you store this in the refrigerator?
Honey does not require refrigeration. It should be stored in a cool, dark pantry away from direct sunlight.
I make these every year for the most delicious Thanksgiving appetizer. I serve some cranberries with the liquid over goat cheese, and then dig in with some crackers. Yum!
These are amazing on winter salads. The liquid is great with a little olive oil and vinegar as a dressing and the cranberries pair so well with seasonal winter salad additions like apples, squash, sweet potatoes, or pomegranates. I make this every year
I made fermented cranberries last year, and it’s time to make another batch. I eat a few every day for healthy digestion.
My granddaughters love the “cranberry juice”.
I have a couple of jars of fermented cranberries and honey that are over year old. They have s wine like smell. Are they okay to eat?They tasted okay.
Yes, they are most likely perfectly fine to eat. You could always add a splash of ACV to regulate the pH if you’re concerned.
I currently have fresh honey on hand, as well as frozen cranberries and some lemons. Would this work just as well if I used sliced lemons layered with the cranberries, and didn’t add the ginger and cinnamon stick?
Sure!
Hello, I’m a bit late to this post but I’ve just tried your rose hip and honey syrup (incredibly delicious!) and am now looking for a recipe for use with foraged high bush cranberries. Do you think this recipe would work with the high bush cranberries? They’re a much different texture but comparably tart!
Absolutely!
A wealth of useful information. Many thanks
I made this recipe and I’m not usually a big cranberry fan but these are amazing! My favorite part is the juice which I add to some water or sparkling water for a delicious drink which I presume is very probiotic? I have a question though, is the liquid basically mead? If it is fermenting isn’t the sugars from the honey being consumed by the yeast and becoming alcohol? I know most ferments have a small amount of alcohol like kombucha but how do I know if I’m making a probiotic fermented drink vs strong mead?
I’m so glad you loved this recipe! Whether your liquid turns out to be more like a light, probiotic drink or closer to mead depends on a few things: how long you let it ferment, the type of yeast, and how much sugar is in there. Generally, a shorter fermentation in cooler conditions leads to less alcohol, making your drink more like a lightly alcoholic, probiotic beverage (kombucha) rather than strong mead. If you’re curious about the exact alcohol content, consider using a hydrometer to measure it.
I really loved this ferment! The cranberries were so addicting and I regret not making tons more. After 1 month of fermenting, we started adding cranberries to salads and yogurt but that juice was amazing when added to soda water for a healthy alternative to pop. Thank you for this delicious recipe!!
You’re so welcome. Enjoy!
I have alot of frozen cranberries, could they possiblity work?
I also have frozen high bush cranberries. They freeze very well for a long time. Waiting for a good recipe.
Yes, that should still work.
I made a jar of fermented cranberry honey back in the middle of December. It worked because there are lots of bubbles. My problem is that there’s so much pressure in the jar that even two hours after I burp it, it is near exploding, and I lose a lot of it to my sink. I’m not sure what to do to release the pressure so it doesn’t explode like it is. do you have any suggestions? I have it in a completely filled quart jar.
You could try using a pickle pipe!
Your jar is probably too full. Move it all into a larger jar or take some out to enjoy now.
OH ! I forgot to tell you that I started my fermented Cranberries yesterday ! I’m so Excited !!! I wish I could post a picture as the jar is so beautiful !
Wonderful! Enjoy!