Whole not Jelly

Growing up, my mother always purchased Ocean Spray cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving.  Us kids had fun opening the can and watching this jelly mold fall out.  Then we got to slice it in perfect rings.  I never heard of “whole berry” cranberry sauce until I was a teenager and there was no way my mom was going to switch.

After moving to California and working in catering, I saw the other side of the cranberry.  The side where it wasn’t pureed and pour into a mold. Where the berry was allowed to “pop” and be in a more natural form.  This is when I fell in love with whole berry cranberry sauce.

Now some people can’t get over the tart tang of this sauce.  I LOVE tart and sour food, so it’s always been a favorite.  Years ago, I stopped buying canned cranberries.  I took the plunge and made my own.  I continue to make whole berry sauce to this day.

Just a couple packages, rinsed off and put into a sugar water mixture over a flame causes these beautiful little berries to pop, pop, pop.  It doesn’t take too long until they are ready to can.  Now honestly, I don’t set out to make it look like I’m planning for Doomsday.  I just get carried away when it comes to canning.

Now, not all of those jars are whole berry cranberry sauce.  Six of those jars are apple butter.  That’s how all this started.  I was just going to can my apple butter.  Then the packages of cranberries started calling out to me and the next thing I know, my “canning pot” is on the stove and I passed the part of no return.  This is what happens when I’m left alone for a couple hours.

A few moments ago, I opened a jar of the sauce to test it.  I always do this, esp. as I either sell or give away my canning creations.  The sauce came out perfectly (imo).  It’s not too jelled, has some liquid for the berries to hang out in and it will spoon out nicely onto the plate or a sandwich.

So there you have it.  I prefer whole berry cranberry sauce.  Which do you prefer, whole or jelly?

 

A Cute Easter Centerpiece

This morning, while out grocery shopping, I picked up a few candy eggs.  I probably could have chosen a brighter color, but I was also being cheap.  The pink wrapped eggs were less than a $1.50, so I went with it.  I wanted to make an Easter centerpiece for the diningroom table.

You will need:  several wine glasses, tulle (or Easter grass), candy and a tealight (or votive) candles.

When I got home, instead of using Easter grass, which goes everywhere, I opted to utilize some leftover tulle.  Cut long strips of the tulle from the roll, and then bunched it up.  Having already added five candies to each wine glass, I pushed the tulle in and flipped the wine glass upside down.  I had to add a bit more tulle to each glass so the candy stayed at the top of the glass. When I was satisfied with how the glass looked, I added some white tealights to the top of each glass.

Now, my table isn’t overly large, unless I add extra leaves to extend it.  I just made three of these and put them in a row on the table.  I used a pastel green tablecloth and it made a really cute, simple and elegant centerpiece.  Now to find some cute placemats for the table and I’ll be all set.