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Homemade Cranberry Sauce With Apple

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Homemade cranberry sauce is so much better than store bought. The texture is just right and the flavour is lovely, especially with the bit of apple. The spices are optional.

cranberry sauce with apple
This cranberry sauce with apple is lightly spiced and takes just 30 minutes to make.

You can imagine Thanksgiving dinner in a house with seven children.

What you probably can’t imagine is what it must have taken my mom to get dinner on the table for a family of nine, plus grandparents and other visitors.
There was a 25 pound turkey, mountains of potatoes and squash, jars and jars of mom’s homemade pickles brought up from the cold room. There were apple and pumpkin pies covering every available flat surface and homemade cranberry sauce made with local rock cranberries.
I’m sure our table, and all of us around it, looked like a Norman Rockwell painting.

 
Thanksgiving has evolved in our house which is a godsend for everyone as our family grew. It’s still a big feast (we’ll be a crowd of two dozen this year) but for almost twenty years we have celebrated Thanksgiving at our family cottage and it’s potluck-style so no one has too much prep.
It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving for me without homemade cranberry sauce. I didn’t like it as a child but I loved the idea of it, those tiny rock cranberries cooked into a garnet jam that glistened in the serving dish. Rock cranberries grow wild in blueberry territory and are practically impossible to buy now. Still, homemade cranberry sauce made with plump bog cranberries is delicious and adds a bit of sweet and spice that ties a traditional Thanksgiving dinner together.

Homemade cranberry sauce is so much better than store bought. The texture is just right and the flavour is lovely, especially with the bit of apple. The spices are optional.

The sweetness in this recipe is enhanced by the flavour of maple syrup and molasses. (The molasses can be replaced by the maple syrup.) This recipe takes just 30 minutes to make.

 

Green tips:

  • Choose organic apples since conventionally grown apples have a high pesticide load.
  • Look for local cranberries at your local markets.
Homemade Cranberry Sauce with Apple
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Homemade Cranberry Sauce with Apple

Recipe by Bridget OlandCourse: OtherDifficulty: Easy
Servings

8-10

servings
Prep time

5

minutes
Cooking time

25

minutes
Total time

30

minutes

Homemade cranberry sauce is so much better than store bought. The texture is just right and the flavour is lovely, especially with the bit of apple.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound of cranberries, picked over and washed

  • 1 1/2 cups sugar

  • 1/4 cup maple syrup or honey

  • 2 apples, peeled, cored and diced

  • ½ tsp cinnamon (optional)

  • 1/8 tsp allspice (optional)

  • 1/8 tsp ground cloves (optional)

Directions

  • In a medium pot combine the cranberries, sugar, maple syrup or honey, and apples.
  • Cover and place on medium heat, stirring from time to time.
  • Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often.
  • Uncover, turn the heat down to a simmer and cook another 15 minutes.
  • Stir in the spices.
  • Cool slightly and spoon into a jar or other glass container and cover tightly.
  • Store in the fridge up to three months.

Notes

  • The mixture will thicken as it cools but cook it a little longer if you prefer a thicker sauce. Store in the refrigerator. This cranberry sauce will last for three months.
 

2 Comments

  1. Joanne W.
    January 6, 2022 at 12:51 am  ·  Reply

    I made this recipe and it was really wonderful. I followed the recipe as written, opting for honey, and added the spices. It has a silky texture which I love. I thought it was even better the following day, the next, and the next. Thank you, Bridget!

     

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