058 / 75 · Fruit Salads for the Table

Cranberry Canned Pineapple Cream Ring

One cranberry-pineapple cream ring, about 3¾ cups (900 ml); 6 fruit-salad side portions · Active 35 min · Total 10 hr 30 min

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Sweetened canned cranberry sauce blends into a rose-pink sour-cream ring with small canned pineapple pieces. The fruit sauce supplies sweetness and pectin as well as cranberry flavor. No extra whipped topping or raw pineapple is part of the formula.

Jump to ingredients

Hand-drawn rose-pink cranberry cream ring with small pale-yellow pineapple pieces.

Cranberry sauce is a prepared sweetened food

Use ready-to-eat canned jellied cranberry sauce and check its ingredients. It is not interchangeable with raw berries or unsweetened juice. Blend it with part of the milk before whisking in sour cream so the base is smooth rather than streaked with stiff sauce. The color will be opaque rose pink, not a clear cranberry-red gel.

Pineapple is both drained and heat processed

Use canned pineapple packed in juice, not fresh or raw frozen fruit whose enzymes can prevent setting. Drain, blot and finely cut the pieces before taking 150 grams. The canned juice is separately measured and counted in the base. Fold the dry fruit into lightly thickened cold dairy so it stays suspended. This sweet-tart ring is a side or modest dessert; cream and cranberry sauce are not hidden behind a low-sugar or light-food claim. Animal gelatin also means the fruit ingredients do not make it vegetarian.

Ingredients

  • 2 standard ¼-ounce envelopes unflavored powdered gelatin (14 g total), of specified setting strength
  • 6 tablespoons cold drinking water (90 ml)
  • ¾ cup pasteurized whole milk (180 ml), divided
  • ¾ cup ready-to-eat canned jellied cranberry sauce (200 g)
  • ¾ cup pasteurized sour cream (180 g), kept cold
  • ½ cup canned heat-processed pineapple juice (120 ml)
  • 1 cup canned heat-processed pineapple pieces AFTER draining (150 g), packed in juice, patted dry and cut small
  • ¼ teaspoon neutral oil (1.25 ml), for wiping mold

Set out

Blender for cold dairy, Sieve and clean towel, Knife and board, Small saucepan, Mixing bowl and whisk, Scale and measuring jug, Metal ring mold of at least 1¼-liter capacity, Paper towel, Food thermometer, Cold platter, Refrigerator

Allergens

Milk. Check labels and substitutions.

Make it

  1. Confirm pineapple/juice are canned heat-processed products; drain/dry fruit and weigh 150 g small pieces. Check mold capacity, dry and oil lightly. Blend cranberry sauce with 120 ml milk until smooth, whisk with sour cream in bowl and refrigerate. Bloom gelatin over 90 ml cold water in saucepan 5–10 minutes.
  2. Add remaining 60 ml milk and warm gently while stirring until dissolved, about 120–140°F (50–60°C); remove before boiling. Temper warm gelatin gradually with 3 tablespoons cold cranberry-dairy base. Once smooth and lukewarm, whisk into remaining base, then gradually whisk in measured canned pineapple juice.
  3. Refrigerate 15–30 minutes until lightly thickened, stirring gently. Fold in cold dry pineapple pieces. Spoon into ring with at least ½ inch (1.25 cm) headroom; refrigerate excess separately.
  4. Cover and refrigerate at 40°F (4°C) or below at least 8 hours until firm. Allow 10½ hours total. For unmolding, set a cold plate beside the refrigerator. Dip only the outside of the metal mold in warm, not hot, water, about 100°F (38°C), for 5–8 seconds without letting water touch food. Dry the outside, loosen just the upper edge with a clean fingertip and invert onto the plate. If stuck, repeat a brief dip rather than shaking violently. Refrigerate again immediately if not serving now. Cut 6 fruit-salad side or modest dessert portions.

Gelatin starting strength

Use food-grade unflavored powdered gelatin with a manufacturer benchmark of 7 g for about 2 cups (500 ml) plain liquid. Weigh the stated grams: envelope sizes and powder density vary. A flavored dessert packet, collagen peptides, sheet gelatin or agar is not an equal substitute.

Cold service

This is an original retro-inspired recipe, not a recovered 1960s formula. Gelatin is animal-derived; the vegetable ingredients do not make the dish vegetarian. A reliable refrigerator and the stated earlier ingredient deadlines are essential.

Ingredient labels

Read dairy, cranberry sauce, canned pineapple/juice and gelatin labels. Gelatin is animal-derived.

A useful detail

Water, milk and canned pineapple juice total 390 ml, plus 200 g cranberry sauce, 180 g sour cream and 150 g drained fruit. Fourteen grams gelatin supports roughly 900 ml. The sauce is a sweetened ingredient; no extra sugar is added separately.

Another way

  • Use 200 g smooth ready-to-eat canned whole-berry cranberry sauce after blending thoroughly, accepting fine skin flecks.
  • Use 150 g drained canned pear dice in place of pineapple, keeping the same 120 ml canned pineapple juice unless separately reformulating.

Keep it well

Keep covered at 40°F (4°C) or below. Use within 2 days of assembly or the earliest ingredient deadline, whichever comes first. Include the overnight setting period in that limit. Keep total unrefrigerated preparation and serving below 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F (32°C). Chill slices promptly after service; discard food exceeding those limits. Do not freeze; freezing damages the gel and releases water.