I have been making this cranberry sauce for many years….and have found that it’s easy to do too much ginger….and I have never overdone the orange. So it’s about how you taste and cook with these flavors…and it’s about your acquired taste or thoughts on sugar too) So make the sauce with the idea that you are basically following the bag’s instructions yet adding your own zest and essence of flavors. Have fun! Below is how I do it.,,always several days before the holiday.

Ingredients:
24 ounces (3 8 oz bags) of organic fresh cranberries washed and sorted (I throw out the soft squishy berries)
Water
1 -2 Organic satsuma mandarin oranges washed so we can use the skin
Fresh ginger root– I wash but don’t bother pealing it.
1 ½ cups is normal but up to you of organic cane sugar - I skimp on sugar, using half that amount but that's an acquired taste - so use the full amount if you normally do.

Tools:
Vegy stainer to wash and sort the cranberries
Grater for the ginger
Fine strainer or mesh spoon for removing the ginger
Sharp paring knife
Stirring spoon
2 Large pots – one for boiling the jar and lid and rim to sterilize it and the other pot for making the sauce.
1 large mason jar with lid and rim

So I start boiling my mason jar on the back burner…that takes the longest. I started with about 1 1/2 cups of water boiling in the pot with a generous amount, 3 Tablespoons of grated ginger and chopped peal of one of the satsuma oranges. Then when the water was flavored and boiled down to about ¼ of that….I used the fine strainer to remove all the ginger and the orange solids for the compost. Then I put the liquid into the measuring cup and added water to bring it to ¾ cup of liquid. I returned it to the pot –

Add the sugar….white is traditional (I tried brown this time) – up to you. The normal amount is ½ cup per bag of cranberries….I use HALF of that normal amount ¾ cup of sugar for 3 bags of berries…..cranberries are tart, so if you are not worried about sugar and want a batch that’s probably more popular use the full 1 ½ cups of sugar. Stir until dissolved which is quick. Now add the 3 bags of washed and sorted fresh cranberries. Once they boil and start popping stir them no more than 4 or 5 minutes. Because I love orange, I opted to squeeze the juice of a half of another satsuma mandarin orange and then I also finely sliced and chopped the half orange including the peal and added it to the cranberries - like marmalade would have into the pot as well – this time leaving it there. Basically you have to adjust your own love of orange and ginger. (the ginger can easily overpower it – so be more careful with the ginger – I find the essence from the first boil and removal was great and I dont think you need to leave ginger in it)

Immediately put your cranberry sauce into sterilized 20 oz large size mason jar with new sealing lid and rim. Hope you enjoy it! Let me know….it’s best served cold with your turkey!