Sunday, November 28, 2010

Thanksgiving, Part II: Homemade Cranberry Sauce

As a kid, I never really liked cranberry sauce.  This was most likely due to the gelatinous nature, but also partly due to the fact that my mom hated it and my dad loved it.  As a kid, I aligned with my mom's food preferences and readily abhorred my dad's (vienna sausages, need I say more?)

I can't exactly remember why I decided to make cranberry sauce from scratch a few years back, but it was most likely because I'm a food snob and like to make it all from scratch.  Also, the gelatinous stuff in the can just really gives me the heebie-geebies.  Anyhoo, it is ridiculously easy to make and MUCH better homemade (I find the canned stuff granular).  And most people seem impressed when they find out your cranberry sauce is homemade, though some will roll their eyes.  I just prefer the texture and hint of citrus.

Cranberry Sauce
  • 1 - 12 oz package fresh cranberries
  • 1 cup orange juice (I prefer pulp free)
  • 1 cup white granulated sugar
In a medium sized  saucepan, combine orange juice and sugar.  Bring to a boil.  Add cranberries. (I usually go through the package of cranberries and pull out any that are not firm or are discolored.)  Reduce heat and let the cranberries boil gently for approximately 10 minutes.  The cranberries will begin to pop and the mixture will thicken considerably.

Let the mixture cool to room temperature then refrigerate until ready to serve OR, if you do not want the remnants of the berry skin, you can pour the sauce through a mesh sieve, pushing firmly against the mesh to extract the most sauce and then refrigerate.

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