REALLY EASY CRANBERRY SAUCE I understand the appeal of canned jellied cranberry sauce It plops out of the can, has those pretty ridges, and can be sliced up and placed right in the center of a plateful of curly parsley It’s got a kind of Betty Crocker appeal to it But whole-berry sauce in a can or jar? Why, when homemade is so much better, and blindingly simple to do? Here’s why to make it yourself: first off, cranberries are extremely high in pectin This is the cellular glue that holds plants together and is the primary jelling agent in jellies Unlike most other berries, which require you to add powdered or liquid pectin to get the requisite jell level, cranberries already contain the perfect amount That means that all you’ve got to is cook them down with some sugar, and just a touch of water to get them started, and they basically all the work themselves, setting into a jelly all on their own Cranberries and cranberry sauce also have an extremely long shelf life In part due to their high acidity, in addition to naturally high levels of antimicrobial phenolic compounds, fresh cranberries can keep for weeks (if not months) in the refrigerator I make my Thanksgiving cranberry sauce at least a week ahead of time Then it sits in the fridge, no problem, and saves me from having to think about it on Turkey Day Which is not to say you should restrict yourself to serving cranberry sauce only on Thanksgiving: it makes an awesome accompaniment for grilled or roasted pork and chicken, sausages, or meatballs Finally, making cranberry sauce yourself lets you adjust the flavorings any way you like ’em I’m a purist at heart, so my sauce most often contains nothing but cranberries and sugar, with perhaps the occasional hint of cinnamon (cranberries contain spicy phenolic compounds similar to those in cinnamon, so the flavors go quite well together) But here are a few more ideas: • Orange Replace the water in the recipe with orange juice Add a couple teaspoons of grated orange zest along with the cranberries • Ginger Add a teaspoon of grated fresh ginger along with the cranberries, then finish the sauce by stirring in a ... sugar, and just a touch of water to get them started, and they basically all the work themselves, setting into a jelly all on their own Cranberries and cranberry sauce also have an extremely long shelf life In part due to their high acidity, in addition to... those in cinnamon, so the flavors go quite well together) But here are a few more ideas: • Orange Replace the water in the recipe with orange juice Add a couple teaspoons of grated orange zest along with the cranberries... fresh cranberries can keep for weeks (if not months) in the refrigerator I make my Thanksgiving cranberry sauce at least a week ahead of time Then it sits in the fridge, no problem, and saves me