ARoW: Cranberry Sauce

Stop right where you are! Take your hand off the can opener. Set it on the counter and back away slowly.

You don’t need a can of cranberry sauce. Ever. EVER! You can make cranberry sauce yourself. Yes you can! You can turn on a stove, right? Okay, then.

If I could get more people to read these pages I would go on a personal crusade to eliminate canned cranberry sauce from the Thanksgiving vernacular. It’s so easy to make really good fresh cranberry sauce. The only problem is that it’s so different from the canned goo that you might have to explain what it is.

One year I offered to bring something for Thanksgiving dinner, and was not asked to bring the cranberry sauce (or the pumpkin pie; that sad, sad story is told here.) I never have let that happen again. If I’m coming to Thanksgiving dinner, I will say, “…and I’ll bring the cranberry sauce.” There is no further discussion.

I’ve always made this simple accompaniment with apple cider or orange juice, but I recently tried it with dry red wine and it was just as delicious. Apple cider tones down the bitter and sour cranberries. Orange juice accentuates the bright acidity. Dry red wine works with the cranberries’ bitterness. Even water makes good cranberry sauce. There will be no excuses. And as you get more comfortable with the recipe, you can even add other fruits and spices to the mix.

I love this stuff. It’s simple, delicious and takes no time or skill to make. You can make it ahead, even a few days, and store it in the refrigerator until a few hours before you need it (it’s best at room temperature). Trust me. The canned stuff is obsolete.

 

Cranberry Sauce

See? Just three ingredients. Easy, easy, easy!

1 12-ounce (340 g) package fresh or frozen whole cranberries

1 cup (250 ml) sugar
1 cup (250 ml) flavorful liquid, such as apple cider, orange juice, red wine – or- water

1. Combine the cranberries, sugar and liquid in a medium-size saucepan. Stir together and cook over medium-high heat.

2. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes more or until the cranberries have all burst and the sauce has thickened slightly. Remove from the heat and cool. Serve at room temperature.

Makes about 2 ¼ cups.

Other recipes like this one: Cranberry Sauce with Persimmons and Spice, Cranberry Vinaigrette, Roasted Meyer Lemon Chutney

One year ago: some Thanksgiving Thoughts

Persimmons in Cranberry Sauce

You don’t have much time. I hope you have all your plans set and ready to go. Did you buy the turkey? Have you set a schedule for thawing it? And what about the mashed potatoes, stuffing and pumpkin pie? And the cranberry sauce? You’re not thinking of serving The Can, are you?

Well, I’m a die-hard homemade whole-berry cranberry sauce lover, and have made it my personal mission to see that any Thanksgiving table with me at it is going to have some. (After experiencing one sad, sad Thanksgiving that had neither cranberry sauce nor pumpkin pie, even after I asked what I could bring, I vowed to never let it happen again.) While this basic recipe is very good and easy and is probably what I’ll bring to our celebratory table, I recently tried something with a bit of a twist, just for fun.

I based this recipe on one I found at Epicurious after searching for something interesting to do with the Fuyu persimmons I saw at the local supermarket. I had never even eaten persimmons before, but I figured that if they were fruity, they might be nice in cranberry sauce. They do have a mild, sweet fruity flavor, sort of in between a mango and a melon, and that balanced nicely with the tart and slightly bitter cranberries. The flavor of the persimmons also went well with the red wine and whole spices I simmered with the cranberries. (The wine and star anise were in the original recipe, but I added the cinnamon stick for some extra kick.)

This is a good recipe to try if you’re looking for something a little different and very pretty for your holiday table. It’s also good if you want to try something easy that’s just a little exotic, unexpected, and perhaps somewhat impressive, but not too weird. If you don’t want to go with the persimmons, I think the cranberries, wine and spices would make a pretty spectacular dish on their own. Or you might be able to stir in diced apples or pears.

And for those of you who insist on the weird jellied stuff in the can: Ugh! There’s nothing I can do for you. You’re on your own.

Cranberry Sauce with Persimmons and Spice
Adapted from Epicurious

12 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries (do not bother to thaw if frozen)
½ cup dry red wine
¼ cup water
1 cup sugar
1 whole star anise
1 small (3-4 inches) cinnamon stick
3 Fuyu persimmons (about 1 pound), trimmed and chopped into about ½ - inch pieces

1. Combine the cranberries, red wind, water, sugar, star anise and cinnamon stick in a medium-size saucepan. Bring to a boil. Boil gently for 5-8 minutes or until the cranberries have split and slumped. Stir occasionally.

2. Remove from the heat and let stand 10 minutes.

3. Remove the star anise and cinnamon stick. Stir in the persimmons. Cool to room temperature to serve or chill if making ahead. Best served at room temperature.

Makes 8-10 servings.

Another recipe like this one: Cranberry Sauce (a more traditional whole-berry sauce)

One year ago: Mulled Apple Cider

Two years ago: Grandmama’s Pumpkin Pie

Cranberry Sauce: Canning The Can

Several years ago, I was preparing to attend a big Thanksgiving dinner at my grandmother’s house. I asked my mom what I could bring. She got back to me a little while later with Grandma’s request that I bring the vegetables. Okay. I couldn’t think of a good recipe immediately, but my collection was growing on its way to the epic proportions it now has, and I could come up with something. But no. I was being asked to bring raw cut vegetables. It was the equivalent of being patted on the head and told, “Don’t worry your little self about cooking something. We know you can’t do that. Just bring some carrot and celery sticks.” And they didn’t even soften the blow by calling it a crudite' platter.

To add injury to the insult, when we sat down to Thanksgiving dinner, there was no cranberry sauce and *gasp* no pumpkin pie! (Harry, who loves them both, almost cried.) Both of these are dishes I can make well (I hope to post a pumpkin pie recipe soon), and I grumbled a bit to myself and vowed that such a thing would never happen again.


If you are about to find yourself in a similar predicament, here’s what you can do: before anyone tells you what to bring, volunteer to bring the cranberry sauce. Oh sure, they’ll be expecting you to bring The Can. The Can is iconic, predictable, comes in jellied or fancy-pants whole berry varieties. The Can is an American institution.
Phooey on the can! If you can boil water and use a measuring cup (you don’t even have to use it all that accurately), you can make cranberry sauce. If you can get your hands on fresh or frozen cranberries in a 12 ounce (340 g) bag (Ocean Spray brand should be just about everywhere), a cup of liquid and a cup of sugar, you’re in business. It will taste so fresh and delicious and will look so, well, not out of a can that its presence will be met with murmurs of awe. You will be the hero. No more of the perfunctory smear of deep red goo that gets pushed around the plate until it is dissolved into that last puddle of gravy and that tiny bit of stuffing that you just didn’t have enough extra notches on your belt to accommodate.

Maybe I’m getting carried away, but his is great stuff. We particularly like it made with orange juice or apple cider. The citrus punch of the orange juice compliments the sour acidity of the cranberries and helps cut through stodgy holiday fare like turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes. Apple cider tames the acidity a bit and makes a mellower sauce. I’d also like to try pineapple or pomegranate juice. You could even use water for a cranberry-only taste. (I’ve also seen recipes using red wine, but I can’t remember if I ever tried one.)
This recipe can be made ahead, even a few days. Refrigerate it until an hour or two before you’re going to eat it, then let it come to room temperature where it tastes best. This really is easy and would probably take less effort than cutting up vegetable sticks. If you do decide to bring the vegetable tray, however, at least have the style to call it crudite'.
Cranberry Sauce Recipe
You can use just about any juice that you like, or even water to make this cranberry sauce. I particularly like orange juice and apple cider.
1 12-ounce (340 g) package fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup (250 ml) sugar
1 cup (250 ml) juice or water

1. Combine cranberries, sugar and juice or water in a medium-size saucepan. Stir together and cook over medium-high heat.

2. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Cook 8-10 minutes or until the cranberries have all burst and the sauce has thickened. Remove from the heat. Serve at room temperature or store in the refrigerator for a few days. Let chilled sauce come to room temperature before serving.

Makes 6-8 servings.