The food lab better home cooking through science ( PDFDrive ) 764

REALLYEASYCRANBERRY
SAUCE
Iunderstandtheappealofcannedjelliedcranberrysauce.
It plops out of the can, has those pretty ridges, and can be
slicedupandplacedrightinthecenterofaplatefulofcurly
parsley. It’s got a kind of Betty Crocker appeal to it. But
whole-berrysauceinacanorjar?Why,whenhomemadeis
somuchbetter,andblindinglysimpletodo?
Here’s why to make it yourself: first off, cranberries are
extremelyhighinpectin.Thisisthecellulargluethatholds
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 do is cook them down with some
sugar,andjustatouchofwatertogetthemstarted,andthey
basically do all the work themselves, setting into a jelly all
ontheirown.
Cranberries and cranberry sauce also have an extremely
longshelflife.Inpartduetotheirhighacidity,inadditionto
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
TurkeyDay.Whichisnottosayyoushouldrestrictyourself
to serving cranberry sauce only onThanksgiving: it makes
anawesomeaccompanimentforgrilledorroastedporkand
chicken,sausages,ormeatballs.

Finally, making cranberry sauce yourself lets you adjust
theflavoringsanywayyoulike’em.I’mapuristatheart,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
thoseincinnamon,sotheflavorsgoquitewelltogether).
Buthereareafewmoreideas:
•Orange.Replacethewaterintherecipewithorangejuice.
Add a couple teaspoons of grated orange zest along with
thecranberries.
•Ginger.Addateaspoonofgratedfreshgingeralongwith
the cranberries, then finish the sauce by stirring in a