On my drive to work last Friday I heard what I now know is an annual occurrence on NPR – Susan Stamberg touting her family’s cranberry relish recipe. This year she worked it into a conversation with Ocean Spray’s CEO. While I was intrigued by the recipe, I was more fascinated with the idea of walking through a cranberry bog in waders with cranberries floating all around me. I immediately decided that I needed to add this to my bucket list and told Ed so that evening. Now I just need to figure out how to make that happen.

Gourmet Magazine - Nov 1969I might be a tad obsessed with cranberries. Much of Thanksgiving dinner to me is about how to eat more cranberry sauce. There’s not much point to the turkey if it doesn’t come with cranberry sauce. Perhaps I feel so strongly about this as both of my parents have ‘cherished’ cranberry sauce recipes. 

Growing up in California we always made Mom’s Cranberry Sauce which I now know is a slight variation of the recipe on the back of the Ocean Spray cranberries bag. We had a special jar to put it in and always made extra for leftover turkey sandwiches. This is the recipe I made for Ed’s family when we first met as they’d never realized the wonders of fresh cranberry sauce.

Since coming to college in the east coast, most of my Thanksgivings have been spent enjoying my dad’s cranberry sauce. His recipe hails from the Gourmet magazine published 50 years ago this month (I had just turned one!). Yes, that’s a photocopy of the actual cover of the magazine. Dad’s version takes a bit more work given the added step of candying the oranges. But that step is worth it as the intense orange pairs so well with the cranberries. Plus the orange rind is a nice texture contrast to the soft cranberries. My only complaint is that he sometimes doesn’t make enough. We’re hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year and guess who’s bringing the cranberry sauce?

Are you a gravy or cranberry sauce person? I suppose you could be both but for me it’s all about the cranberries. Plus, if you’re gluten-free/wheat-free, cranberry sauce is a much better alternative to gravy which often contains flour. This cranberry sauce can be made a day in advance and travels well. 

Hear more about Susan Stamberg’s recipe in NPR’s Mama Stamberg Takes Her Cranberry Relish Recipe To Ocean Spray’s CEO.

Dad's Cranberry Sauce

 

Dad’s Cranberry Sauce
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Recipe type: Sauce
Author:
Serves: 3 cups
Ingredients
  • Rind from one large thick-skinned orange, slivered
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 4 cups cranberries (~ 1 pound)
  • 3 whole cloves
  • ½ cinnamon stick
Instructions
  1. Wash orange well. Using a vegetable peeler, peel long stips of orange avoiding the pith (the bitter inside part of the peel) as much as possible. Cut these strips into more narrow strips, about one quarter of an inch wide. Repeat until you’ve removed and slivered all of the orange rind.
  2. In a medium pot (4 quarts), add sugar and water. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat. Add all of the slivered orange rind to pot. Cook until syrup begins thicken and orange rinds look candied (a little crystallized), about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon remove orange rind to a piece of parchment or wax paper and reserve.
  3. Add cranberries, cloves and cinnamon stick to pan with the orange syrup. Cook over low heat for 10 to 12 minutes or until cranberries begin to pop and soften (you don't want them too crunchy).
  4. Using a slotted spoon remove cranberries to a bowl. Continue to cook syrup until thick, about 10 minutes.
  5. Discard cloves and cinnamon stick and pour syrup over cranberries.
  6. Chill cranberry sauce and scatter candied orange rind on top before serving.
Notes
* Sauce can be made a day in advance.
* Recipe can be doubled or tripled.
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Source:  Variation on recipe from Gourmet, November, 1969