Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Homemade cranberry sauce is just tastier. It takes about 20 minutes to prepare and only requires a few ingredients. Cranberry sauce can keep for over a week in the refrigerator, and fresh has a better visual appeal. Give the store bought, canned cranberry sauce the boot because it has high fructose corn syrup, and it’s just gross. It’s just not worth it, even on sale.
My Grandmother Arizona Henry always made hers from frozen whole cranberries. She liked the jellied, smooth texture, but I like the whole berry sauce with chunks of cranberry. Cranberries have a sour, tart taste and are rarely eaten without sugar. Cranberry sauce is popular at Thanksgiving, but can be eaten all year and is tasty on chicken, pork, or beef.
Cranberries are 90 % water and have some carbs and fiber. They are high in antioxidants and phenols, a type of antioxidant. Cranberries are best known in the medical field for promoting urinary tract health. Several medical studies say cranberries actually prevent bacteria from adhering to the lining of the bladder.
Cranberry Sauce
12 oz. fresh cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 tbsp. ginger syrup or orange zest (optional)
Mix all ingredients and boil until the berries are soft, about 15 minutes.
Refrigerate until firm.
This Thanksgiving should be just a little more cranberried!
Stacy Schultz is a Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist, a former Morgan County Commissioner and is the author of “It’s Stacy’s Grandma ‘Zona’s recipes.” She has been in healthcare for 35 years at War Memorial Hospital.
