Time to Make Cranberry Sauce

Cranberries are coming to a store near you and if you don’t love store bought cranberry sauce, this is something that you can make for Thanksgiving well in advance.

I have never been a fan of canned jellied cranberry sauce–the shape of it; the taste of it; the awful sound it makes as it slides out of the can. There was nothing about it that I found appealing in any way. So I started making my own cranberry sauce from a recipe that was in the McCall’s Cooking School cookbook. While it was better, it needed something to mellow the overbearing/harsh cranberry taste. I played around with it and found that adding raspberries, orange zest, orange juice, and a little pectin (to get the consistency just right) worked well to create a sauce that my family loves, and I think you will too. (And it’s easy to make! And you can can it for later.)

12 oz. bag fresh cranberries

12 oz. bag frozen raspberries

1 ½ tbsp. Ball Real Fruit Pectin powder

1 medium sized Valencia orange

1 2/3 cups of sugar

Makes about 5 cups of sauce

To get started:  Wash and pick over the cranberries—removing stems, and any berries that are soft/discolored.  Thaw the raspberries on the counter or on 30% power in the microwave.  Using a vegetable peeler, peel just the orange rind from the orange.  Combine the orange rind and sugar in a food processor and pulse until the orange rind is dispersed completely and is in tiny pieces—set aside.  Juice the orange and set aside.

To make the sauce:

Combine the cranberries, raspberries, pectin and orange juice in a large pot and cook over medium high heat until the berries start to pop.  Add the sugar/orange rind mixture to the pot and continue cooking until it comes to a boil.  Remove from heat.

To can the sauce:

Get your jars, bands, and lids ready.  (I usually use the microwave to sterilize my jars.)  Get your hot water canner up to boiling.

Fill sterilized jars, leaving ¼” headspace, and screw on lids.  Put in hot water canner and process for 15 minutes.

Salad Dressing using sauce:

½ cup sauce

1/3 cup red wine or apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup oil (I prefer walnut oil)

2 tsp Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all in food processor and blend until emulsified.

Salad:

Mixed baby greens, diced apple, dried cranberries, roasted turkey or chicken, crumbled blue cheese—gorgonzola or Stilton, Candied pecans, thinly sliced scallions.