DON’T TOUCHED THE CAN! I know it may seem the easiest way to deal with the whole cranberry ordeal, seeing how people don’t usually enjoy cranberry sauce or jelly or chutney during the holidays. If you ask me, it’s because people have been doing it wrong. I’ve been a big fan of making my own sauce/chutney since I tasted the homemade stuff when I was about 14 or 15. Since then, if it’s the canned “log” jelly or the “whole berry” sauce from Ocean Spray, I tolerate it and keep my mouth shut. However, when I host a holiday meal, I make sure that I do it right. I started making my own sauce/chutney back in 2006, and I’ve expanded from the simple cranberry sauce to making more elaborate chutneys (orange-cranberry, spicy cranberry, cranberry-cherry, pickled cranberry…). I’m going to share my Survivalist recipe because I believe that everyone deserves to taste the real stuff without all the additives. When I first saw this recipe, it called for a small dose of gelatin, and I didn’t have any in my cabinets. I mean, c’mon. Who in their college years have gelatin in their pantry? I couldn’t afford gelatin! *laughs*
This is probably the easiest recipes I will ever share…
Ingredients:
- 1 bag (12 oz) Ocean Spray cranberries
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1/4 cup water
Directions:
- Rinse cranberries clean.
- Place water and cranberries in medium pot and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, lower heat to a simmer and stir continuously to allow the cranberries to “pop” open.
- Stir in sugar once all cranberries are “popped”.
- Pour into a serving dish and let cool in the fridge before serving.
* Note: If you like it sweeter, use 2 cups of sugar. I like the tang of the cranberry, so I only use 1 cup.
I love the home-made stuff, too. For sweeteners, I like to use maple syrup, port wine, and/ or Grand Marnier. And I too like to add some fresh orange to the mix. Of course, I lower the amount of sugar or use none at all. It requires many lovely taste tests to get it “just right.”. :). So good!!!
I’ve tried so many different things myself, and I’m still a classic kind of girl. The simpler the recipe, the more confused people seem to be when they can’t wrap their head around the basic ingredients. 🙂