How to Make Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Are you tired of bitter, tasteless cranberry sauce from
the grocery store?  Wouldn't you rather have fresh,
preservative-free homemade cranberrysauce? It is SO
easy to make - from start to finish only about 15 minutes.
It's perfect with chicken, turkey, Christmas, Thanksgiving
and the winter months! The bright color livens up any
dinner table, kids love it and it is low sugar while loaded
with vitamin C and fiber.  You can make it with no sugar
(very tart), some sugar (sweet) or artificial sweetener
(like Splenda), as you prefer!

It is easy to make and can, if you want some for later!
Here's how to do it, complete instructions in easy steps
and completely illustrated.

Prepared this way, the jars have a shelf life of 12 months
to 18 months, and require no special attention.
Directions for Making Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients and Equipment

    * 2 bags (12 oz each) Cranberries
    * Sugar and or Splenda to taste
      (normally 1/4 cup of either)
    * 1 medium or large pot

Makes about 1 quart of cranberry sauce
If you plan to can it for later:

    * Jar grabber (to pick up the hot jars)
    * Lid lifter (has a magnet to pick the lids out of the
boiling water where you sterilize them. ($2 at Wal-Mart)
    * Jar funnel ($2 at Wal-Mart)
    * At least 1 large pot
    * Large spoons and ladles

    * Ball jars (Publix, Wal-Mart carry then -
about $8 per dozen quart jars including the lids and rings)
    * 1 Water Bath Canner (a huge pot with a lifting rack
to sterilize the jars of cranberry sauce after filling
(about $30 to $35 at mall kitchen stores, Wal-Mart)
You CAN use a large pot instead, but the canners are
deeper, and have a rack top make lifting the jars out
easier. If you plan on canning every year, they're worth
the investment.

   
Recipe and Directions
Step 1 - Get your cranberries

There are very few places to pick your own, but happily,
they store and transport well, so there probably isn't
much difference.  Most grocery stores sell the 12 oz bags.
 Look for firm berries with a dark color.

Step 2 - If you are canning: Wash the jars and lids

Now's a good time to get the jars ready, so you won't be
rushed later. The dishwasher is fine for the jars, the water
bath processing will sterilize them as well as the contents!
If you don't have a dishwasher, you can wash the containe
rs in hot, soapy water and rinse, then sterilize the jars by
boiling them 10 minutes, and keep the jars in hot water
until they are used. Leave the jars in the dishwasher on
"heated dry" until you are ready to use them. Keeping
them hot will prevent the jars from breaking when you fill
them with the hot cranberry sauce.

Put the lids into a pan of hot, but not quite boiling water
(that's what the manufacturer's recommend) for 5 minutes, and use the magnetic "lid lifter wand" to pull them out.
Step 2- Wash the cranberries

Pour them in to a large bowl of cold water, and swirl them
around, scoop them out with your fingers, feeling for any
mushy berries, as you scoop.  Discard any mushy, soft
berries.

The picture of the 4 berries shows you unripe through ripe. 
I'd throw out the one on the far left, but use the other 3.
Step 3 - Start the cranberries cooking

They take longer than the apples, so put 2 inches of
water (or cranberry or apple juice) in a pot, get it boiling
and pour the cranberries in.  Let them cook for about
10 minutes, stirring once or twice (you'll hear the berries
popping, as the berries cook - you'll kids will get a kick
out of that). Once half the berries are popped and the
sauce feels mushy, it's done!  It should take 10 to 15
minutes of cooking over medium-high heat.
Step 4 - Sweeten the cranberry sauce

Turn off the heat. Add sugar to taste.  Start out with
1/4 to 1/2 cup of sugar or Splenda, as you prefer.

If you don't plan to can any, you're done!  Just serve
warm or cold!

If you want to can for later, continue through to steps
5 and 6.

The cranberry sauce does not need any further cooking;
just keep it hot until you get enough made to fill the jars
you will put into the canner (Canners hold seven jars at
once, whether they are quart or pint size)
Step 5 - Fill the jars and process them in the water
bath

Fill them to within 1/2 inch of the top, wipe any spilled
cranberry sauce of the top, seat the lid and tighten the
ring around them.  Put them in the canner and keep them
cover with at least 1 inch of water and boiling. if you are
at sea level (up to 1,000 ft) boil pint jars for 15 minutes
and quart jars for 20 min. If you are at an altitude of 1,000 feet or more, see the chart at the bottom of this page.
Step 6 - Remove and cool the jars - Done

Lift the jars out of the water and let them cool without
touching or bumping them in a draft-free place
(usually takes overnight)  You can then remove the
rings if you like.



Recommended process time for Cranberry Sauce
in a boiling-water canner.
Process Time at Altitudes of
Style of Pack     Hot
Jar Size     0-          1,001-    3,001-      Above-
               1,000 ft    3,000 ft   6,000 ft     6,000 ft
Pints        15 min      20            20            25
Quarts     20             25            30            35