This looks like a delicious cranberry sauce that you can make to grace your holiday table. Cranberry sauce was popularized during the American Civil War when General U.S. Grant had it served to his troops during the siege of Petersburg in 1864. However, cranberries have been used for hundreds of years. They are a known food that was discovered by the Pilgrims to be tasty and the local Indians knew of the preservative properties of cranberries for many years prior to that. It was mixed into their pemmican (dried meat) to extend it’s shelf life.

Cranberries are named for the crane, the long-necked bird that dines on them in swamps and marshes where the berries grow. Some other names for cranberries are atoka, bounceberry, and bearberry.

Cranberry sauce was first commercially canned in 1912 by the Cape Cod Cranberry Company, which over the years evolved into the Ocean Spray company we know today.

With this recipe, you could leave the berries somewhat whole, or run it through a food grinder for a more smooth sauce.

Cranberry Sauce (Bingham Collection)

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

3 cups cranberries

Combine sugar, water in saucepan. Stir til sugar dissolves. Bring to boil, add berries, boil 7-10 min. Remove from heat, serve warm or cold. Makes 4 cups sauce.