It’s almost zero hour, and you promised to bring something. How about homemade cranberry sauce? You know, the kind that isn’t shaped like the can?
Keeping It Real
My mother-in-law taught me how to make real cranberry sauce and it wasn’t as complicated as I thought. You can make it days in advance and it will still taste wonderful. That makes it a nice dish to bring along if you are having Thanksgiving at someone else’s home.
This version has orange juice, grated orange rind, and walnuts added to make it simply special.
Cranberry Sauce Health Benefits
Even if you’ve always “Passed” on cranberry sauce, I think you’ll find this homemade version so different and better than the can. And cranberries have many health benefits, too.
Cranberries are high in antioxidants and plant polyphenols that reduce inflammation in the body. One particular polyphenol is believed to help urinary tract infections.
You may just become a convert!
Need another idea for a dish to bring? Check out this yummy cranberry-beef dip.
Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 bag of fresh cranberries
- ⅔ c. water
- 1 c. sugar
- ⅓ c. orange juice
- ½ tsp. grated orange rind or dried orange peel
- ½ c. chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Put cranberries in 3 qt. saucepan after rinsing them in cold water.
- Add the water, orange juice, and sugar to the pan.
- Turn the heat to medium and stir occasionally, bringing the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat a bit to simmer. Use a spoon or spatula to crush berries as they cook, and continue stirring until most of the berries have popped or been crushed. The mixture will begin to thicken (about 10-15 minutes). Remove from heat.
- Stir in walnuts. Grate some orange peel (be careful not to add any of the pith), and stir into the sauce; or used dried orange peel.
- Refrigerate 4 or more hours until completely cooled. Sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.
Notes
This sauce may be stored, covered, in the refrigerator; or, it can be frozen for future use.
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