I grew up in a household where we always made our Cranberry Sauces from scratch, at Thanksgiving. As a youngster, I loved to watch the process, and to help stir, as I grew old enough. The smell, the sight, and the experience permeate my memories, much as the scent of freshly cooked cranberries permeated the house, mingled with the aroma of turkey.
As a Mom, sometimes I defer to the canned, jellied cranberry sauce, a much different product, with a different texture and appearance, altogether. My kids prefer this to the Cranberry sauce that Grandma brings, though they will eat it. It's a matter of taste, I guess. If you compare the two, the canned product has a slightly milder taste, compared to the home cooked Cranberry Sauce. Sometimes, it's a matter of pricing, and the frozen cranberries required for making the sauce from scratch are a little more expensive than a couple of cans.
I think it's great to expose the kids to both variations, and to give them perspective on the source of the two sauces. If you want to include your children in making Cranberry Sauce from scratch, it's easy, but exercise caution with younger than 10 year olds. The cranberries burst, and splatter, as they cook, which is part of the fun of making from scratch cranberry sauce...the hot sugar in the pan will pose a burning hazard, though, so younger children need to be supervised very carefully, and not left alone near this dish.
Ingredients:
12 oz. frozen or fresh cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
Directions:
Rinse the cranberries, remove any bad cranberries, and place your good cranberries in a heavy saucepan. Add water and sugar, and heat, bringing to a boil, and reducing, to simmer. Continue to simmer until all cranberries have popped, or broken, stirring frequently to prevent scorching or burning. Remove from heat, pour into a bowl, cover, and refrigerate.
Quantity will be approximately 2 1/4 cups, for a small Thanksgiving dinner this will be sufficient, especially if children are part of the group, due to the strong flavor. For a larger gathering, double or triple the recipe.
