Some of us grew up seeing cranberry sauce come out of a can with telltale circular indentations. I certainly ate my share of that delicacy (sometimes out of the can, with a spoon), but my mother always served real cranberry sauce too. It is easy to make and keeps for weeks in the refrigerator. This recipe is from the back of the Ocean Spray cranberry bag, modified by a close reading of Julia Moskin’s 2013 Classic Cranberry Sauce recipe in The New York Times. You can cut the sugar back by a lot, to as little as 6 tablespoons.
1 cup water
6 tablespoons to 1 cup (16 tablespoons) granulated sugar
12-ounce package fresh or frozen cranberries, rinsed and drained
In a saucepan, combine water and sugar, stirring to dissolve sugar. Bring to boil; add cranberries, reduce heat to medium low and simmer until the sauce thickens. Cool completely at room temperature. Makes 2 1/4 cups. Keeps indefinitely in the refrigerator.