On 10 Dec 2013 15:10:33 GMT, Wayne Boatwright
> wrote:

> If I bake a ham, I
> always make my own version of a raisin/cumberland sauce to be served
> hot in a gravy boat. If you'd like the sauce recipe, I'll be glad to
> post it.

I bet that's similar to the raisin sauce Gary likes, would you please
post your version? I did find this at Serious Eats (the idea of using
cranberries instead of currants is appealing):

And while there is no one true recipe for Cumberland, it always has at
least the following:

- Red currants, either in jelly or syrup or as whole fruits. You can
substitute other tart red fruit, however, and I’ve used cranberries,
highbush cranberries, lingonberries and even raspberries with good
results.

- Red wine or Port. No substitute, so if you cannot use alcohol in
your cooking, you are out of luck. You can make a facsimile of
Cumberland without wine, but it will not be the same sauce.
Citrus. Most recipes have either lemon or orange zest plus some juice,
too. If you can ever get your hands on bitter Seville oranges, they
are what was historically used.

- Meat stock. As we just saw, the oldest versions of Cumberland don’t
have this, but the addition of meat stock — especially demi-glace or
glace de viande – adds a lot to the flavor. If you don’t have demi,
use regular stock and boil it down. Only be very careful about any
other salt in the sauce, as the boiled-down stock will get very salty.

- Spices. English dry mustard (Coleman’s) is almost always used, and
so is freshly ground black pepper. And I mean freshly ground: It makes
a difference in this case, as black pepper is one of the primary
flavors in this sauce. A lot of recipes also add a pinch of cayenne
pepper. This might sound modern, but keep in mind that cayenne starts
appearing in European food as early as the 1600s. The iconic French
chef Auguste Escoffier added ground ginger to his version of
Cumberland.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.