Cranberry Sauce

 

I made cranberry jelly today for my Thanksgiving prep. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. It was a lot like making applesauce with a lot of sugar. I doubled my recipe because I wanted to use the entire bag of cranberries, and it made a little over 4 pint size jars. 

If you want to try the same recipe, it is in this book:

Canning Applesauce

I have vague memories of my mom canning jelly, applesauce, and apple pie filling. The main memory is the smell that filled the house. I have craved that smell for many years not knowing exactly where to find it. Earlier this week, I remembered and made a plan to make and can applesauce this weekend. Today, the plan was executed with Chad as my helper. 

We started with pealing, quartering, and coring nine pounds of apples. Then, we cooked them in a large pot until they were soft. 

Next, Chad puréed them in the food processor and heated the purée to boiling while I washed some of jars. Then, we filled the jars to 1/2 inch below the top of the jars, smoothed out the air bubbles, wiped the tops, and put lids on the jars to prepare them for the water bath. 

At this point, we filled the pot higher than the tops of the jars and boiled them for 20 minutes. The jars are now on a towel on the counter cooling. 

I am so excited to have made this. I am getting back to my plan from earlier this year, and it fills me with joy!