Canning Up the Cranberry Sauce

     Another Thanksgiving is behind us, and while most are wondering what to do with all the leftovers, I am looking at all the beautiful jars in my pantry. I filled quite a few jars with all the good things that Autumn has to offer: cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, turnips, turkey stock, and turkey soup.
My cranberry sauce is so easy to make and easy to can up to enjoy all year. I began making my own when I was just setting up housekeeping 32 years ago. Since then, my family has come to expect homemade sauce. I can't remember the last time we opened a can from the store. Here is my recipe. It come to you straight off the bag.

Cranberry Sauce

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 (12oz.) bag cranberries

Combine water and sugar in a sauce pot. Heat to boiling; dissolve sugar completely. Pour in the cranberries, fresh or frozen, and allow to return to a boil. When the mixture has come to the point of a boil which can not be stirred down, stir to loosen the juice from the berries and be careful not to let the concoction boil over. This should be watched and boiled for about 10 minutes. You will notice that the liquid will begin to thicken slightly. This is the stage we have been waiting for.


Just before they begin to boil. How pretty is that?!

Now it is time to can your sauce. I should mention here that I obviously cooked more than one bag of berries. In fact, I cooked seven bags of cranberries. To adjust your recipe, simply multiply the ingredients by the number of bags you have to cook.
 P.S. Seven bags of cranberries will make approximately 20 half-pints with a goodly amount leftover for Thanksgiving dinner.

Canning the Sauce:

Seven bags of cranberries made 20+ jars this size!

Wash and boil your jars to sterilize them. While the jars are hot, fill with piping hot sauce, leaving a little room for head space, and place a sterilized lid and band on them. When all your jars are filled and sealed, place them in a hot water bath and cover them with hot water, until the water sits about an inch or so over the tops of the jars. I them put the lid on the pot and set it on the stove. When the pot boils, begin timing the bath for 15 minutes. Be especially careful of the steam. No joke! That stuff hurts! Remove the jars and place them on a towel until they cool off completely.



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