Cranberry sauce is not just for Christmas and not just an accompaniment to turkey. It is wonderful with duck, goose or chicken not to mention soft cheeses like Brie. My favourite way of eating it is spread generously in a sandwich. Preferably with chicken or brie Depending on how you like your cranberry sauce; sweet or super sweet, it gives the perfect contrast to either.
Cranberries are naturally tart little red/orange fruits that bounce. Beneath their thin red/orange skin is a white firm juicy flesh that contain four roomy seed chambers, it’s the air trapped in these chambers that give them the bounce factor. Add a little sugar and a little water to a couple of handfuls of cranberries and they are transformed into a tangy zingy fruity thick sauce .
I have always associated cranberry sauce with the USA but in fact they were also grown over here in the UK around the 17th Century but were known as Fenberries, because they were grown in the Fen marsh lands of East Anglia. Today there is only one British grower and that is Mockbeggar Farm, near Rochester, in Kent. Unlike in the USA where the Cranberry fields are flooded at harvest time Mockbeggar Farm crops have been so small that they had to picked by hand.
I used to buy cranberry jelly until I found I could make it not only really quickly and simply but also exactly how I liked it. The sugar quantity I have given below is a good balance – you can either increase or decrease it depending on your taste. I wouldn’t go any lower as it needs to have some sweetness.
Cranberry Sauce
Makes around two 8 oz jam jars.
Ingredients
300g fresh or frozen cranberries
200g sugar
300ml water
Put water and sugar into a pan and heat gently until sugar has dissolved. Bring up to the boil and add the cranberries. As they start to pop and split lower the heat to a gentle simmer for about 10 minutes. Stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
The sauce thickens as it cools.
Set aside to cool slightly before pouring into sterilised jars. Store in the fridge – should keep for a month maybe even longer.
Sterlising Jars
To sterilise the jars wash them in hot soapy water and rinse. Place on a baking tray and put into a warm oven Gas mark 3/325F/160C and leave for 10/15 minutes. Carefully take out and use.
I use the rule that it is either wax discs or screw lid not both. The waxed disc will prevent the twist top from creating a proper seal.
Maria Dernikos 