Need a little help with fresh cranberries

JNettie73

For Thanksgiving I am making stuffed acorn squash. The squash will be stuffed with homemade stuffing. I bought a container of fresh cranberries and would like to put a few in the stuffing with some walnuts and apple. My problem is I have never used fresh cranberries before. My question is should I cook the cranberries before adding them into the stuffing or just let them cook as I bake the stuffing and acorn squash? Any help is appreciated. I am also googling to see if I can find some suggestions.

meli_medina

You could leave them whole, but then you will end up with larger chunks. Another thing to do that would probably work is to pulse them in a food processor (if you have one, if not then dice them up or whatever) and add them that way. Then the juices will also soak into the rest of the stuffing as they cook. Enjoy!

berv0009

I think I would cook them down first just to be safe -- throw them in a pot of boiling water until they "pop" then they will most certainly be soft and delicious!

Espressocycle

If you have the patience, cut each one in half first. They will cook better that way. I agree though, blanching them first is probably the way to go.

msallymae

i love this idea!! you go.

JNettie73

Thank you everyone. That is what I thought too, but I was not sure if that would over cook them. But at the same time I don't want them raw either. I think I am going to go with blanching them first. Hopefully it turns out good. I am just making this recipe up as I go.

SLaw4215

I have run fresh cranberries in a juicer and found the juice to be really tart so I was curious about your question.

I found a recipe for you on All The Cooks dot com and it says to cook them until the cranberries pop.

Here's a link for a recipe for STUFFED ACORN SQUASH WITH CRANBERRY STUFFING for you to consider:

http://www.allthecooks.com/recipe/Acorn+Squash+with+Cranberry+Stuffing-307960/

Hope it comes out as well as it sounds like it should.

Happy Thanksgiving!