Cranberry harvest is upon us and so I will again be freezing 100 pounds of cranberries. I use these cranberries in all sorts of recipes during the year. If you are in an area where fresh cranberries are in abundance, by all means buy some and throw them in the freezer. Remember to wash them before cooking with them. The prepackaged 12 oz. bags in the produce dept. can be tossed in the freezer as is. Make sure they aren't wet or they'll freeze into an ice ball. Over the next few weeks I will be posting cranberry recipes that are sure to be winners with you. I have my favorites and maybe some will be your favorites, too.
Cranberry Sauce
2 cups water
2 cups sugar
4 cups cranberries
Bring water and sugar to a boil. Boil hard 5 minutes. Add cranberries; boil gently for 15 minutes, stirring ocassionally. For whole berry sauce, pour directly into a mold or glass bowl. Cover loosely and refrigerate until jelled (at least 4 hours). Whole berry sauce may also be served warm. For strained sauce (no skins and few seeds), press through a mesh strainer with the back of a wooden spoon. Or my favorite way to do this is to triple the recipe and then strain using my Back to Basics food mill with the berry screen. I pour the cranberries into the hopper and turn the handle until all the sauce has come through. Stir and pour into hot sterilized jars pint jars and seal. Invert for 5 minutes. Turn upright and listen for lids to seal.
For tips on find canning jars or other canning info check out Thrifty Homeschooler.
