- 51 percent of respondents advocated for a cranberry relish of some kind
- 29 percent supported a homemade sauce from fresh or frozen cranberries
- 17 percent said jelly or chunky cranberry sauce from a can is OK
- 3 percent said cranberries had no place at their table
- 1 bag fresh cranberries
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 orange, zested (not fine — use a peeler to get large peels) and juiced
- 1 cinnamon stick
- dash nutmeg (about 1/4 tsp)
- dash cloves
- dash freshly ground black pepper
- In a small saucepan, heat cranberries over medium heat. Add sugar, orange juice and orange zest. It is important to use a peeler to zest your orange so that you don't have tiny chunks of orange zest in the sauce. The large strips (avoid with white "pith" as it's very bitter) add a ton of flavor from the oil and are easy to remove for serving.
- Stir until well mixed and cook over medium heat until cranberries start to burst. Then add the cinnamon stick, nutmeg, cloves, and black pepper.
- Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until cranberries are mostly popped and you achieve your personal favorite consistency.
- Remove orange peels and cinnamon stick if desired and serve (warm or room temperature).
