Cranberry sauce looks fancy, but it is so easy you won't believe that you've put up with canned stuff for all these years. It's not even necessarily more expensive as canned as long as you pay attention to the holiday sales!
I buy my cranberries when they fall to .99 cents. (Wichita area- check Aldi's- I saw them for .99 cents this week.) I usually buy several packs of them so I have some for Christmas as well. I simply pop the whole pack in the freezer as is, and I've never had one fail on me.
To make a very basic homemade cranberry sauce, you'll need the following:
1 big pan
2 packs of cranberries
2 cups of water
1/4 to 1/2 cup of sugar
You'll need to do the following:
1.Pour the cranberries in to a bowl or strainer and wash them. Pick through them and be sure to get out any less than fresh cranberries.
2. Put the water in the pan. I say two cups, but it should cover at least two inches of the bottom so the berries don't burn, so it may be a little different based on the size of pan you use. Bring the water to a boil.
3. Pour the cranberries into the boiling water. Cook over medium high heat for 10-15 minutes, or until at least half the cranberries have popped open. You will hear them pop- don't be alarmed; the popping is normal.
4. Remove from heat and add sugar to taste while the sauce is still warm. Stir well. I usually end up using at least 1/2 a cup, but I like my sauce on the sweet side. You can serve the sauce warm or cold. I usually make this the day before, put it in a pretty serving bowl, and pop in the fridge to serve cold the next day.
That's all there is to it! Now wasn't that easy?
Head on over to Frugal Upstate for more great Thanksgiving side dish ideas!
4 comments:
I made home made cranberry sauce last year for the first time. It was so much better then the canned stuff. I am making my own again this year. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Ohhh! Sounds yummy. Don't you just love a recipe where things are supposed to "explode" like the cranberries do?
I am going to be adventurous and try making homemade cranberry sauce...we never had cranberries for the holidays when I was a kid (the side dishes were more ethnic), and when I got married and did my own dinner I bought a can for those who might want it and became addicted to the whole sweet-and-savory...Never really thought about making it from scratch, even though almost everything else in my kitchen is cooked from scratch....guess the berries were still too new to me, so thanks fro the recipe, I can't wait to try it...
I saw that Aldis add too and have to make a trip there. The leftover cranberry sauce makes excellent sweet bread.
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