Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash the cranberries and drain them.
Put the cranberries in a saucepan with the sugar.
Cook
Cover and cook slowly for 30 minutes.
Remove the cover, stir, and cook briskly until the liquid thickens.
To test, place a few drops on a cool surface for a minute; if it stiffens, it's ready.
Cool
Transfer to an earthen vessel and cool thoroughly.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Cranberries
- Provide the tart fruit base and pectin that help the sauce set as it cooks.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the sauce and, as it concentrates, helps it thicken and set.
The step that matters
Cooking until the liquid thickens. Sugar and cranberry pectin only set into a spreadable gel once enough water has evaporated and the mixture reaches a high enough sugar concentration. Stopping too early leaves a runny sauce, while overcooking makes it stiff and candy-like as it cools.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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