This is my favorite cranberry sauce, the one I've served at holiday dinners for decades. It has less sugar than most cranberry sauce recipes, so the natural tartness of the cranberries comes through. A light touch of apple, orange and spices adds depth to the flavor. Don't wait until you're serving turkey to dig into this festive sauce - it's also good with pork or simple roasted root vegetables.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
12 ounces whole cranberries, fresh or frozen
- 1 cup water
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 orange, seeded and cut into small, thin slivers (leave the peel on)
- 1/2 apple, cored and cut into small, thin slivers (use a firm, crisp variety such as Granny Smith or Honeycrisp)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 6 whole allspice berries
- 2 whole cloves
Preparation:
Put the cranberries, water, sugar, orange and apple into a large pot over high heat.
Tie the cinnamon stick, allspice and cloves up in cheesecloth, or put in a muslin spice bag. Add to the pot with the other ingredients.
Boil over high heat, stirring often. The cranberries will begin to pop open, making a sound almost like popcorn popping. When almost all of the cranberries have popped, turn off the heat.
If you are going to eat the cranberry sauce within a week, simply transfer it to a heatproof container, cover and refrigerate.
For longer storage (1 year) at room temperature, ladle the cranberry sauce into sterilized 1/2-pint jars leaving 1/2-inch head space. Screw on canning lids. Process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes.
With either method, the cranberry sauce will thicken and gel as it cools, so don't worry if it still seems liquid when you first turn off the heat.
