I had strawberries, cherries and cranberries on hand. I also had plums so I used them. The traditional thing that I didn't have were the currants and raspberries but I had enough good berries to make a good Rote Grütze. I opted to add a cinnamon stick, cloves, and vanilla but some like it withouth the spice. If you are making this for later use, the spice mellows as it sits.
| Cornstarch Thickening Demonstration |
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Here are the Steps to Thicken with Cornstarch
Measure out 2 heaping tablespoons of Cornstarch
and 1/4 cup water into a measuring cup
Bring 2 cups of cranberry juice to a boil.
Mix the cornstarch with the water to make what is called a slurry.
when it boils add the
slurry and mix well till it thickens.
Cook for another few minutes.
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Thickening with Xanthan Gum Demonstration
The benefit of this is to show that it this can thicken without cooking. |
I am using 1 cup cranberry juice and 1 teaspoon Xanthan Gum |
I dumped it in the cranberry juice, and mixed it. |
We have a lumpy mess, no fear |
In about 30 minutes the lumps will be completely dissolved.
This can be done without immediately with a food processor or an immersion blender. Cooking it also dissolves the lumps.
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| Thickening with Arrowroot demonstration |
Here is the ingredients to thicken 1 cup of cranberry juice
1 tablespoon arrowroot.
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Pour a few tablespoons of the cranberry juice in the pan and mix in thoroughly to make a slurry. |
Add the rest of the cranberry juice and bring to a simmer, |
Simmer until it thickens, coating the spoon. |
Bring the fruit to a simmer and cook just until it is soft, Then take the vanilla bean and cinnamon stick out if you used them,
Now it is time to add the thickener.
I took 1/2 cup of the juice out, and when it cooled I added the xantham gum.When it's fully dissolved, add it slowly back into the berries. As it cools it will thicken the whole batch.
If you use cornstarch, make a slurry with the 1/4 cup water, then pour it in to the berries and bring it back to a simmer and stir till it thickens and turns clear.
After it thickens turn off the heat and let it cool a bit. Serve it warm if you want or let it cool in the fridge.
This is what it will look like after it sits in the fridge.
To the milk or cream add the sugar, cornstarch and vanilla and bring to a simmer. Cook until it thickens. Then pull it off the heat to cool a little. |
Put the egg yolk into a small dish and whisk till smooth. Add a few tablespoons of the warm sauce to temper (slightly warm it up) the egg yolk and then add it to the sauce. This way it doesn't cook the egg yolk. |
A traditional way to serve Rote Grütze is to serve it in a glass or pudding bowl, and top it with the vanilla sauce.
This is how it looks, pour some vanilla sauce over the top and swirl it a bit, but don't mix it in.
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