recipes

No-can-do cranberry sauce

JOY journal

“After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relations.” Oscar Wilde, Irish playwright

Cranberries. I like them. Chopped and tossed with oranges in a bitter relish. Glistening in all their red glory in a glass bowl. I have nothing against cranberries from a can, either, even the jellied kind that slide out fully retaining that odd rippled shape. I’ve enjoyed slices of the latter, sometimes layered on french bread, topped with cheddar and popped in the broiler or oven.

See? I’m not a cranberry snob. This is the canned stuff turned into a sweet-and-savory side for a Saturday soup – dairy cheddar at the front, vegan provolone on the back.

But, if you’ve never had real cranberry sauce, the kind that would impress your mother- in-law, you’re in luck. There is simply no easier side to make. Enjoy!

No-can-do Cranberry Sauce

Rinse the contents of one 12 oz. bag of cranberries, fresh or frozen. (You can freeze bags of fresh berries to take advantage of holiday sale prices, by the way.)

In a medium sauce pan, combine berries, 1 cup white sugar (no skimping or you’ll be sorry — really sorry) and 1 cup water. Put on lid to avoid spattering. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until berry skins begin to pop. Remove from heat. Cool to room temperature. Refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to serve.

In addition to using this as a classic holiday side dish, consider using it as a jam. It is good on bread topped with cheddar cheese and baked or broiled, with breakfast toast or over pancakes/waffles. If you have some leftover liquid after the berries are gone, pour up to 1/4 cup atop the middle of a Mountain-style Cornbread (under breads and pastries) before baking. Use a knife to “fan” the color into a web pattern that will provide a burst of flavor in addition to looking pretty.

Published by JOY journal

After a long career writing for local newspapers — and, on rare occasions, for publications such as The Washington Post — Nora's word life is now focused on blogging and occasional writing projects of special interest. Also the author of several books, Nora lives in Appalachia with her husband and a goodish dog named Finn, who is delighted whenever the family's two adult daughters are home from college.

22 thoughts on “No-can-do cranberry sauce”

    1. 🙂 Mmm. It really is good with the cheddar, which, sadly, I can no longer eat. The vegan provolone doesn’t look as pretty on a plate. But, when you bite into it, it actually is melty and tastes very good. Not quite as good as the dairy cheddar, but good.

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    1. It really is better. 🙂 I used to stock up like crazy (and fill a section of the freezer) when fresh cranberries were only available in the fall. Now, frozen ones are carried year round in many groceries. I love to make cranberry bread all winter. It looks pretty in the summer, too, sliced into tiny sandwiches.

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    1. This is kind of funny, but I had never seen canned sauce until I was in my 20s. I didn’t even know it existed. So, even though homemade is clearly better, I occasionally buy the jellied kind just so I can see it slide out of the can in one piece. It’s so fun to slice it in rings. 🙂 Have a blessed Thanksgiving, Liz!!

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