So how do you turn three ingredients into something as delicious as cranberry sauce? Just add the sugar and water to a saucepan, and make a simple syrup by brining them to a boil and letting them boil for one minute.



While they are warming up, fill the kitchen sink with water, and pour in the fresh or frozen berries. This way you can rinse them, and at the same time pick out any that aren't good quality (too squishy, or not enough color for you).



Once the simple syrup has boiled for one minute, scoop the berries into your saucepan and reduce the heat to 3/4 full. Bring to a medium boil. When the pot level rises, reduce heat but maintain a full boil. Never stir. This keeps your berries whole---they will pop from the heat but they will still be semi-intact, making this a "whole berry sauce."


After about 15 minutes, when all the berries have popped, turn off the heat. The key is to keep it at a full boil but never let it scorch. You will see the color darken at about 15 minutes and smell a change when the sugar is just starting to caramelize. My mom likes to take hers off the heat just before the caramelization, and my aunt prefers to let it turn just the faintest purple with a hint of caramelization. It's easy to let it go too far, though, so for your first time it's better to err on the side of caution and take it off the stove when you first smell a change.



Let the sauce cool fully on the counter, then store it in the fridge until you're ready to serve. If you want to make a lot, you can make this in huge batches and can it. (Some of my aunts do this, others just keep frozen berries in their freezers all year 'round.)

Trivia: The cranberry plant is native to the United States, and is only grown in the US and Canada. No other countries are both environmentally suited to, and interested in, growing cranberries commercially.

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