Whole Cranberry Sauce

For some people, cranberry sauce is simply a traditional garnish for Thanksgiving Dinner.  At our house it could be at least a substantial snack--if not a light meal--all by itself.  In other words, it's well-loved by all.  So for the holiday meal, we add it to the feast and everyone takes a spoonful to accompany meat or rolls.  But then the leftovers get to be the main feature for breakfast soon thereafter.  It's a recipe I planned to link you to, but I haven't posted it yet!  So you'll have to be in suspense until I do.

Cranberry sauce is so easy to make, and it's worth it to not come out of a can.  The homemade, whole berry version does hold a form if allowed to set properly, even with whole berry chunks.  I know some people enjoy that super-smooth jelly version, too, so I'll do my best to explain how to do it just in case!

Start by boiling equal parts water and sugar.

Then add in whole cranberries.

Bring it to a boil.  The cranberries will start to burst.  It's fun!  Stay close and listen!  Also, stay close so it doesn't boil over.

Boil, boil, boil until it's nice and thick and red.  It'll get a little frothy--that's okay.  You can monitor the bubbles until they turn pink!

Let it cook down for awhile.  Think caramel sauce or a melted jam thick.  Or partially set jello.

You can leave them completely whole.  If you do, your sauce will look like this (more or less).

We like occasional whole pieces but with little people in the house, the big bites of cranberry are a little sour.  So I used a stick blender to mix it up a little.

This is the result.

If you want it to be cranberry jelly, don't blend it.  Pour it through a mesh sieve into your container and mash the cranberries with the back of a spoon to extract the juice.

No matter what you decide, pour it into a container or mold and let cool at room temperature before refrigerating--at least overnight if turning out onto a platter.

Whole Cranberry Sauce

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

3 cups whole cranberries

Bring sugar and water to a boil.  Add cranberries.  Return to boil and let cook until cranberries have burst and sauce thickens.  For whole cranberry sauce, simply transfer to container.  For jelly, pour through mesh sieve into container and press berries with back of spoon to extract juice.  For something in between, puree with an immersion blender before transferring to container.  Let cool at room temperature before refrigerating.