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Orange Cranberry Sauce Recipe

Orange Cranberry Sauce Recipe

Cranberries remind me of fall. The tart little berries make me think of a beautiful autumn afternoon surrounded by falling leaves of orange, red, and yellow. So, when I am deciding on Thanksgiving dinner side dishes during holiday meal planning time, I always include some kind of cranberry dish. In the past, my mother and grandmother had always served cranberry sauce or cranberry jelly from a can. For the past several years, however, as I was planning my Thanksgiving dinner side dishes, I decided that I was going to make my own cranberry sauce from scratch. I initially thought that cooking cranberries was a long and difficult task. However, after I had successfully made the following orange cranberry sauce by hand, I decided that I would never buy canned cranberry sauce as one of my Thanksgiving side dishes ever again.

Ingredients

  • 12 ounces of fresh cranberries
  • 1/2 cups of white sugar
  • 1/4 cup of water
  • 1/2 cup of orange juice
  • 1 tablespoon of freshly grated orange zest

Directions

  1. Wash the cranberries in cool water.
  2. Combine the sugar and orange juice in a medium sauce pan.
  3. Add the cranberries and orange zest to the pan.
  4. Stir the cranberry sauce over high heat for three minutes or until the sugar melts and the liquid boils.
  5. Reduce to low heat.
  6. Simmer for about fifteen minutes or until the cranberry sauce thickens. Stir occasionally.
  7. Pour the cranberry sauce into a serving bowl.
  8. Place in the refrigerator until completely cooled.
  9. Served chilled.
  10. Refrigerate any uneaten cranberry sauce.

Making my own orange cranberry sauce from scratch as one of my Thanksgiving dinner side dishes was so easy. Basically all that I have to do is toss all of the ingredients in a sauce pan and boil the sauce for about twenty minutes. Of all the foods I make during the holidays, my homemade cranberry sauce is definitely the easiest. In fact, of all the leftovers in my fridge after the big Thanksgiving meal, the cranberry sauce always completely disappears the fastest. Even my husband, who does not particularly care for cranberries, loves my sauce because of the hint of orange that complements the sweet sugar and the tart cranberries. So, this year as holiday meal planning time rolls around, I am definitely adding my orange cranberry sauce to my list of side dishes. I also highly suggest this recipe to any other cooks looking to add a bit of homemade flavor to their Thanksgiving dinner side dishes.

Cranberries and Orange Rinsing the Cranberries

Sugar and Water Orange on Cutting Board

Orange Zest Orange Juice and Sugar

Adding the Cranberries Boiling the Orange Cranberry Sauce

Simmering the Orange Cranberry Sauce Finished Orange Cranberry Sauce

Orange Cranberry Sauce

Image Credits

Orange Cranberry Sauce Recipe © 2012 Heather Johnson
Orange Cranberry Sauce © 2012 Heather Johnson
Cranberries and Orange © 2012 Heather Johnson
Rinsing the Cranberries © 2011 Heather Johnson
Sugar and Water © 2011 Heather Johnson
Orange on Cutting Board © 2011 Heather Johnson
Orange Zest © 2012 Heather Johnson
Orange Juice and Sugar © 2012 Heather Johnson
Adding the Cranberries © 2012 Heather Johnson
Boiling the Orange Cranberry Sauce © 2011 Heather Johnson
Simmering the Orange Cranberry Sauce © 2011 Heather Johnson
Finished Orange Cranberry Sauce © 2011 Heather Johnson
Orange Cranberry Sauce © 2012 Heather Johnson

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