Peggie’s Cranberry Sauce

Photo by Duchessoftea: Flickr

Delicious with turkey and absolutely divine on next-day turkey sandwiches! This recipe was passed to me by my stepmother, who was an inventive, innovative cook.

This recipe is vegan and vegetarian friendly, gluten-free, and can be made diabetic friendly simply by substituting sweetener for the sugar.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 cup sugar (or equivalent amount of sweetener)

½ cup water

2 tbsp orange zest

⅛ to ¼ tsp salt

⅛ tsp cinnamon

Pinch or two of ground cloves

4 cups fresh cranberries, washed and picked through

½ tsp vanilla extract (essence)

Method

Combine sugar, water, zest, salt, and spices in a large pan and bring to the boil. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add cranberries and simmer until berry skins pop (10 to 15 minutes, longer if you are at a high altitude); continue cooking until mixture thickens. Remove pot from stove, stir in the vanilla.

At this point you can either ladle the mixture into sterilized jelly jars and cap, or simply set aside to cool (make sure it is covered). If you put it in jelly jars, 20 minutes in a hot water bath should set the lids and then it can be stored in a cupboard for up to one year. Otherwise, keep chilled and use within 2 weeks.

Serving suggestion:

For each diner, place 1/3 cup applesauce in a small sauce dish and place two tablespoons cranberry sauce on top.