Cranberry sauce

Trivially easy to make at home.

Vegan. Hands-on time: 5 mins. Total time: 5 mins.

Contributed by Janey Macleod (November 2008).

Cranberry sauce is, of course, staple fare at the great winter holiday feasts of Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's most often served with turkey, goose or chicken, but it also makes an excellent accompaniment to many festive vegetarian dishes, such as nut roast and mushroom crisp.

In truth, cranberry sauce is so easy to make that you don't need a recipe. Just cover the cranberries with cold water, add a little sugar, bring to the boil and simmer gently for about five minutes. You can optionally add the grated rind of a small orange or a tablespoon or so of orange juice. Leave to cool before serving.

As a rough guide, allow one cup (6 oz, 175 g) of sugar for every three cups (10 oz, 300g) of cranberries – or slightly more if you like the sauce particularly sweet.

Note on quantities and temperatures:
Quantities are given in American (cups), imperial (oz, fl oz) and metric (g, ml) units. Do not mix the units - use one or other system throughout the recipe.
See also How much does a cup weigh?
oz = ounces, fl oz = fluid ounces, g = grams, ml = milliliters, tsp = teaspoons, tbsp = tablespoons.
Oven temperatures are given in degrees F (Fahrenheit) and C (Celsius).
For fan-assisted ovens, reduce the temperature by 20F or 10C.