Kitchen science: Cranberries have little air pockets inside, so they bounce and float; heat swells the air until the skins pop, and the berries' own pectin sets the sauce as it cools.
Pop, pop, POP! Let's make Popping Cranberry Sauce: listen to the berries burst. This easy recipe is for ages 7 to 14 (grades 2nd–8th), takes about 20 minutes (plus 2 hours waiting) and serves 8. Crumb, our tiny chef, reads every step aloud with a picture, so a child can follow along, and every hot or sharp step is marked for a grown-up.
Fresh cranberries arrive in shops in the fall, harvested from flooded bogs where the floating berries are scooped up, which is why they bounce: they're full of air. Kids rinse, sort, bounce and measure; the bubbling sugar is a grown-up's job. It keeps in the fridge for about a week, so it can be made days before the meal.
Ingredients
3 cups cranberries3 cups (720 ml) cranberries
1 cup sugar1 cup (240 ml) sugar
½ cup cold water½ cup (120 ml) cold water
½ cup orange juice½ cup (120 ml) orange juice
a pinch cinnamon (optional)
Tools
A colander, Measuring cups, A big pot, The stove (grown-up), A big spoon, A mixing bowl.
Steps
Wash your hands with soap for twenty seconds, then let's make popping cranberry sauce!
Tip 3 cups of cranberries into the colander and rinse them under cold water.Tip 3 cups (720 ml) of cranberries into the colander and rinse them under cold water.
Pick out any squishy or brown ones. Then bounce a good one on the counter!
Pour 1 cup of sugar into the cold pot.Pour 1 cup (240 ml) of sugar into the cold pot.
Pour in ½ cup of cold water, then ½ cup of orange juice.Pour in ½ cup (120 ml) of cold water, then ½ cup (120 ml) of orange juice.
Add a pinch of cinnamon too.
Tip in the cranberries. Plop, plop, plop!
Grown-up step: A grown-up heats the pot on the stove until it boils, stirring.
Grown-up step: A grown-up lets it bubble gently for 10 minutes. Listen for the pops!
Grown-up step: A grown-up turns off the heat and pours the hot sauce into the bowl.
Let it cool, then chill it in the fridge for 2 hours. It sets like jelly!
Spoon it next to the turkey. Pop, pop, hooray!
Safety notes
Hot! A grown-up does this part.
None of the nine major allergens as written. Still read the labels on packets.
Raw cranberries are hard and round: only cooked, soft sauce for little ones under 4.
Sticky fingers.
Kitchen science
Cranberries have little air pockets inside, so they bounce and float; heat swells the air until the skins pop, and the berries' own pectin sets the sauce as it cools.
Make it your own
Stir in a spoonful of orange zest (a grown-up grates it).
Swap half the berries for chopped apple.
Spread a little on toast with cream cheese the next morning.
Questions about cranberry sauce
Can I make cranberry sauce ahead?
Yes. It keeps in a covered bowl in the fridge for about a week, and it sets firmer the longer it chills.
Why do cranberries pop?
Each berry has small air pockets inside. Heat makes the air expand until the skin bursts with a little pop.
Can I use frozen cranberries?
Yes, straight from the freezer; they take a minute or two longer to pop.