Shweta Garg

“GOOD FOR THANKSGIVING. THIS IS A GOOD RECIPE. ELEVATES, FANCIER THAN CANNED!. CANNED PEOPLE ARE WRONG PHILISTINES!!!!!!” – Words by Annie Wilkes

There are 2 kinds of people in the world. People who prefer  the nostalgic taste of  gelatinous purple cranberry sauce that plops out of a can like the Blob  from the film  “The Blob” (1958 starring Steve McQueen) or those who prefer cranberry sauce done the right way. My friends Arty and Deborah were kind enough to share this recipe with me and it was love at first bite. It is now  a standard in our Thanksgiving spread. 

Ingredients

• 12 oz Fresh Cranberries
• ¾ C Sugar
• ½ C Water
• ½ Orange juice and zest
• ½ T Ginger, finely minced
• 1 Cinnamon Stick
• 1 Star anise
• 3 Green cardamom pods
• Pinch of salt

Directions

• Rinse the cranberries and remove any bruised berries. 
• In a sauce pan on medium heat, add the water, sugar, orange juice, and orange zest. Stir until the sugar has completely dissolved. 
• Add the cranberries into the sauce pan and continue to simmer until they’ve burst, about 7 -10 minutes.  Once they’ve burst, add the salt, minced ginger, cinnamon stick, star anise and cardamom pods. 
• Continue to simmer until achieving the desired consistency and texture, i.e. 5 minutes for chunky cranberry sauce and 7 minutes for a jammy sauce.  Taste for sugar and flavor, make adjustments as necessary. 
• Remove the cinnamon stick, star anise, and cardamom pods.
• Serve chilled.