A Cranberry Classic

This is my last blog before Christmas so I would thought I’d share a family recipe for cranberry sauce which is an essential part of a poultry centred Christmas luncheon and also goes so well with the Boxing Day cold cuts.
My Mum always made her cranberry sauce with port and orange. It was rich, sticky and looked just like Christmas, all shiny and red. For this recipe, I also followed Glynn Christian’s advice and added the sugar after the berries had softened, and I was very pleased with the result.
You’ll notice I also had the benefit of an enquiring audience from our family pooch ‘Bella’ who was very put out at not being allowed to help in creating some of the Christmas magic. I think she appreciated the smell of the cranberries bubbling away too.

Makes 950g–1kg sauce
600g fresh cranberries
250ml port or red wine
Julienne (thinly shredded) zest and juice of 1 orange
300g dark muscovado sugar
Combine the cranberries in a medium saucepan with the port and orange zest and juice. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and allow the cranberries to bubble away merrily while you listen to Christmas carols and the skins soften on the fruit and begin to burst, approx. 10-15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add the sugar, stirring to dissolve. If it is very runny, put the pan back onto the heat and let the sauce boil away rapidly until it thickens to your liking. Allow to cool then bottle into a clean jar/s and store in the fridge for up to two weeks.
You can buy ‘The Gentle Art of Preserving’ online here.