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Cranberry
Sauces
Cranberry
sauce makes a wonderful accompaniment to the traditional Thanksgiving
holiday table. Although many of you may have grown up with a cranberry
jelly, molded into the shape of a metal can, we are here to tell
you that there is a delicious alternative — homemade cranberry
sauce. Fresh cranberry sauce has a delicious tart-sweet flavor
far superior to the canned variety. The texture should be a soft
gel cushioning some softened, but still intact cranberries.
Try
these simple cranberry sauces this Thanksgiving for an extra special
holiday addition.
Basic
Cranberry Sauce
- 3/4 cup
water
- cup
sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon
salt
- 12-ounce
bag of cranberries, picked through
Note:
You can use frozen cranberries if you wish, just pick through
them and add a couple extra minutes to your simmering time.
In
a medium saucepan, bring water, sugar and salt to a boil over
high heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve sugar. Add the cranberries
and return mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until mixture
is slightly thickened and about two-thirds of the berries have
popped opened, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and allow to
cool to room temperature. (The cranberry sauce can be covered
and refrigerated for up to 7 days; let stand at room temperature
for 30 minutes before serving.)
Cranberry
Orange Sauce
- 3/4 cup
water
- cup
sugar
- 1 Tablespoon
orange zest
- 1/4 teaspoon
salt
- 2 Tablespoon
orange juice
- 12-ounce
bag of cranberries, picked through
In
a medium saucepan, bring water, orange zest, sugar and salt to
a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve sugar.
Add the cranberries and orange juice and return mixture to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer until mixture is slightly thickened and
about two-thirds of the berries have popped opened, about 5 minutes.
Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool to room temperature. (The
cranberry sauce can be covered and refrigerated for up to 7 days;
let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.)
Cranberry
Sauce with Pears and Fresh Ginger
- 1 Tablespoon
fresh ginger, finely grated
- 1/4 teaspoon
cinnamon
- 3/4 cup
water
- cup
sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon
salt
- 12-ounce
bag of cranberries, picked through
- medium-sized
firm, ripe pears, cut into 1/2-inch dice
In
a medium saucepan, bring water, ginger, cinnamon, sugar and salt
to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve sugar.
Add the cranberries and pears and return mixture to a boil. Reduce
heat and simmer until mixture is slightly thickened and about
two-thirds of the berries have popped opened, about 5 minutes.
Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool to room temperature. (The
cranberry sauce can be covered and refrigerated for up to 7 days;
let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.)
About
Cranberries
The
word "cranberry" comes from the term early Dutch and
German settlers used for this little red fruit: "crane berry."
The berries were called this either because the blossoms of the
cranberry vine resemble the heads of cranes or because the birds
ate the berries. Other common names for this fruit were fen berry,
fog berry, bog berry, or bounce berry. Cranberries come in shades
of red from light to dark to nearly black. Fresh cranberries start
to appear in markets in October and stay through December. Cranberries
are rich in pectin which is why they make such delicious relishes.
The berries keep wonderfully in the refrigerator and freezer.
Information
obtained from Cook’s Illustrated, December 1999
–
Glutenfreeda
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