Homemade Cranberry Sauce

I've been making cranberry sauce for over 20 years but this is my first time canning it

This cranberry sauce is easy and delicious. Hubby says it's the best he's had in almost 50 years of Thanksgivings (though I'm sure he really can't remember the first few all that well). I made an extra large batch this year and canned some to share and to bring back that lively taste of fall when we are deep in winter. I used 5 bags of cranberries! The cranberries we got from Nature's Way Market were local berries from Ricker Hill Orchards in Turner, Maine.

Here is my quick and easy recipe for cranberry sauce:

1 12 oz. bag of cranberries

1 cup of sugar

zest of 1/2 of 1 orange - finely chopped. 

juice of one orange

put it all in a small saucepan on medium low and heat stirring frequently to prevent scorching until most of the cranberries have popped. Allow to cool. Sauce will thicken as it cools. 

Tip: be sure to be very careful when removing the zest from the orange. You want to get only the zest. Try not to take any of the white pith with it. The pith can be very bitter. 

That is all there is to it! So easy yet so tasty. Enjoy it with your Thanksgiving dinner for sure, but it also makes a great accompaniment to a sandwich in place of chips. Or, use it to garnish your vanilla ice cream. Use your imagination. Have fun with it.

Until next time. Taste lively!