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Dessert

Cranberry Sauce

A simple sauce made from cranberries, water, and sugar, simmered until the berries soften.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
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Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Pick and wash the cranberries.

  2. Place the cranberries in a pot with ½ cup of water.

  3. Add 1 pint of sugar on top of the cranberries.

Cook

  1. Cook over medium heat for about 30 minutes, stirring often to prevent burning.

  2. Do not strain; the cranberries will maintain their color.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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
Their pectin and tartness give the sauce its body and bright, sharp flavour as they break down.
Sugar
Sweetens the sauce and balances the cranberries' natural tartness, and helps thicken it as it cooks.

The step that matters

Stirring often over medium heat. Sugar and fruit juices can scorch on the bottom of the pot, giving a burnt taste. Frequent stirring keeps the heat even and the sauce from sticking.

“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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