badseed1980 | Thing Forty-Three: Cranberry Sauce

Yes, I'm the kind of person who will put kimchee and gochujang on a veggie burger. Yes, I'm the kind of person who thinks that pizza with figs on it is awesome. In some things, however, I am quite the purist. Cranberry sauce is one of these things. I don't make cranberry chutney or cranberry relish--both fine condiments in their own right--I make cranberry sauce. It does not have mango or acai or other exotic fruits in it. It does not have star anise or other exotic spices. It has only four ingredients, and really, I wouldn't complain about making it with only three.

I first read about the idea of homemade cranberry sauce in a novel as a kid. I can't remember what novel it was anymore, but the protagonist was a boy, and he made cranberry sauce in the book. The "recipe" that he used was: "Half as much sugar as cranberries, half as much water as sugar." This is my recipe, too. The fourth ingredient, the lily-gilder, is fresh orange zest. That's it.

I've made the whole-berry cranberry sauce for my family Thanksgiving for several years now. When I get to my parents' house on the evening before Thanksgiving, I pick up a couple of bags of fresh cranberries and an orange. Sometime after dinner, I open up the berries and carefully sort out any that look squishy or dried out. The good ones, I rinse well in a colander, and then measure in a big Pyrex measuring cup. I dump them into a pot, then measure out half that volume of white sugar (or sometimes a little less, but it needs a lot to balance the tartness of the berries). Into the pot it goes. Then, I measure out half THAT volume of water. Into the pot. Then, I rinse off an orange and grate its peel into the pot. I find that I like the ratio of the zest of one whole orange to two bags of cranberries. I turn the burner on medium, and bring it to a boil. I let it cook at a simmer until most of the berries have burst, and everything's getting nice and thick. Then, I take it off the heat and let it cool for a little while until it's still pretty fluid, but not nuclear-hot anymore, and pour it into a container that has a lid. I leave the lid off until it's cooled down significantly, and then stick it in the fridge (or outside, if it's cool enough).

This stuff is great with your Thanksgiving turkey, sure, but it's also awesome with pork, as well as on a cheese plate. If you're me, you'll put it on your Leftover Sandwiches the day after Thanksgiving. It's so incredibly easy, I highly encourage everyone to give it a shot, especially if you find yourself underwhelmed by the canned stuff. The flavor of the homemade kind is so much brighter and fresher, it's a revelation.