Want to know a secret?
I had never eaten cranberry sauce that didn’t come out of the can until 6 years ago. I didn’t even know it was possible to make at home, much less how to make it. Sure I saw cranberries in the store in November, but had no iota how to use them, so gave them a pass.
And then some came in our CSA box.
Now in my house, we don’t waste food. So I was faced with the quandary of wasting these berries or figuring out how to use them. Thanksgiving was coming and cranberry sauce seemed obvious, so a little googlefu and suddenly I was smacked with the embarrassing realization that it’s so simple a child could make it.
And when I say simple, this is it:
- 1 c water
- 1c sugar
- 3c cranberries
Boil water and sugar. Add cranberries. Boil additional 10 minutes.
Now can you find recipes where you add citrus or juices or spices? Yep and over the past few years I’ve experimented with more than a few of those. I’ll leave a personal favorite variety down in the recipe card, but know that basic above is truly all there is to it.
How does it gel up then? The cranberries are full of pectin, the same substance used to make jellies and jams get their jiggle jamminess on. Apple peels are also full of pectin which is how I made my spiced apple jelly.
Spoilers: The homemade stuff is astonishingly delicious. And, the bag of fresh berries is less expensive than the pre-made in the can, even accounting for the sugar. Budget savvy and tasty? Sign me up from now on!
Cranberry Sauce
8
servings5
minutes10
minutesIngredients
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
3 cups fresh cranberries
1 small apple, finely diced
1 small cinnamon stick, or 1/2 tsp ground
Directions
- In a medium pot, combine water and sugar, and bring to a boil.
- Add cranberries, apple, and cinnamon to boiling sugar water.
- Continue to boil 10 minutes.
- Pour sauce into a heatproof bowl and chill. Sauce will gel as it cools.
Notes
- Up to 1/2 cup of apple juice or cider can be substituted for the water for added apple flavor.
- The apple and cinnamon are completely optional. You can elect to make the basic cranberry sauce and it will still taste amazing.
- A different variation that’s also great is to sub in the zest of one orange for the cinnamon, and then adding the juice of that orange in place of some of the water. Omit or leave apple, as desired.
