rehydrating dried cranberries.....

[CocoaNut]

I'm making a relish for a pot-luck this week. It includes tart apples, (fresh) cranberries and raisins. The liquid base is cider vinegar.

I'm not a fan of fresh cranberries, so plan to sub with dried cranberries. What liquid(s) would be a suggested option for rehydrating. (I plan to cut the amount of vinegar by 1/2 with water).

[muirne81]

Near-boiling 100% cranberry juice (not the Ocean Spray gook) for an uber-cranberry experience.
Apple cider or pear cider might be interesting & fruity.
Snap spirits (http://www.artintheage.com/spirits-snap/) or non-alcoholic ginger beer might be amazing!

[smithareeny]

How about Calvados?

[CocoaNut]

If it were going to be on my dinner table, I'd definitely look into flavored brandies, but it's for a work related lunch and sadly, not everyone partakes ........

[morwen]

Rehydrate in cranberry juice. Even better if you can find unsweetened straight cranberry juice. Kind of difficult but I've found it in the natural foods aisles in some grocery stores and of course "health food" stores

[CocoaNut]

Thanks for the suggestions. Definitely a good idea on the sugar, because I believe there's a certain amount called for in the recipe, probably to tame the vinegar. I think the intensity of sweet in the c'berries is from the concentration of natural sugars during dehydration. I'll have to read the bag. My curiosity is up!

[Sooeygun]

Most commercial brands of dried cranberries add a lot of sugar.

[karykat]

Yes, they are kind of coated with sugar. Makes them more palatable as snacks.

You're right -- you need to take that into account.

[paulj]

You also want to adjust the sugar. Most dried cranberries are already sweetened.

[OCEllen]

Orange juice

[karykat]

You could use apple cider or apple juice, to keep the flavors strong.