Cranberry Sauce Recipe

Seasonal cranberries are a delight - their bright color is pleasing to the eye, the tart flavor lends a lighter note to the often heavy turkey dinner, and do I even have to mention their nutritional profile?



Cranberries are harvested between Labor Day and Halloween - and fresh appear in markets from October through December. I like to stock up at this time, as their peak of freshness often coincides with super-low prices! I make batches of cranberry sauce and cranberry-orange muffins - and then freeze batches so that we may enjoy their vibrancy in the dead of winter.

Cranberry Sauce Recipe

2 bags of rinsed berries
1 cup water (orange juice is a delicious substitute)
1 cup natural sweetener (sugar, honey, maple syrup)

Method

Combine all ingredients in a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then  reduce heat and cover. Simmer, occasionally stirring, until the berries are soft and the sauce thickens.

Sometimes I toss in a sliced orange, sometimes not. Since I use about 1/2 the amount of water and sugar usually recommended, I keep an eye on the sauce to see if it needs additional water. Once the sauce is thickened, taste to see if it needs additional sweetening. I do this at the end, as I can always add more sweetener if needed, but I can't take it out of I use the recommended amount all up front. I also find that over time we have come to prefer a more tart, less sweet sauce!