Cranberry Sauce

By Shirley & Phyllis

Cranberry is another one of the seasonal ingredients showing up at this time of the year. If pumpkin is a Fall flavor, cranberry is a holiday favorite. Cranberry season starts with Thanksgiving and goes through Christmas and New Year's​.

The oblong dark red berries usually show up at the grocery store just before Thanksgiving, but every year, it seems their presence in the produce aisles is shorter. Last year, the grocery store near my home stopped selling them after Thanksgiving, although many stores continue to stock them well into January..

At our home, my husband (who is an American) praised the virtues of cranberries. Cranberries are indeed a good source of vitamins and are believed to help prevent UTIs.

I was not used to having a sweet "sauce"​​ with meat but I learned to have cranberry sauce with turkey on Thanksgiving and later on pork (my husband’s favorite). 

I actually prefer to add cranberry sauce to my vanilla yogurt or use it to top cakes and ice cream.

Make a batch and try it yourself!

Recipe for Cooked Cranberry Sauce

By Shirley

4 cups cranberries (or whatever size bag you find at the grocery store)

1 cup sugar (to start)

½ cup water

1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (approximately 3 oranges)

2 apples, cored and diced (optional)

1 cup raisins (optional)

½ cup crystallized ginger (optional)

Cinnamon

Cloves

In a large pot with a lid, bring the washed cranberries, diced apples, sugar and water to a boil. Cover the pot! When the cranberries heat, they will start to burst and will create a mess if the pot is not covered. Be careful while mixing the sauce. Once the berries start bursting and the mixture starts looking like liquidy jam, add raisins, ginger and spices. Continue cooking until apples are cooked, all berries have burst and jam has a firmer consistency. Tasting is important! Cranberries are very bitter and you might have to add as much as another cup of sugar. Depending on how much sugar you add, you might need to cook the mixture a little bit longer to bring the jam to the right consistency. When you think it is sweet enough, add the orange juice and let it cook just until flavors mix well. Cooking the orange juice too long will make it bitter. That is why I add the orange juice at the end. The jam will continue to thicken once it cools. Cranberry sauce can be frozen, but it lasts a long time in the fridge. 

Uncooked Cranberry Sauce

By Phyllis

1 12 oz bag cranberries

1 orange, unpeeled, cut into quarters

¾-1 cup sugar

Place orange and cranberries in food processor. Process just until chopped. (You may need to do two batches depending on the size of your food processor.) Pour into a serving bowl and stir in sugar. Chill until ready to serve. You can add freshly grated ginger if you like.

Whichever method you choose, enjoy your cranberry sauce!