• Start water bath canner to heat before starting the sauce. The canner can take up to 45 minutes to come to a boil.

For Whole Berry Sauce

• Add cranberries and water or juice to a large stock pot. Cover pot with lid. (It’s best to cover the pot and leave a crack opened because the berries can “jump” out of the pot when they burst open. Bring to boil over medium-high heat then reduce heat to a high simmer. Simmer about 10 minutes until berries are soft.
  1 cup water, 4 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
• Once the cranberries soften, mash them with a potato masher for crushed berry sauce.
  2 cups Sugar
• Add sugar. Stir to incorporate. Stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, boil 3 minutes.
• Ladle hot cranberry sauce into hot half-pint jars, with the aid of a canning funnel. leaving ½ inch headspace. (The space between the product and the rim of jar.)
• Remove air bubbles.
• Wipe rim with a damp paper towel.
• Place hot lid on the jars.
• Screw on bands fingertip tight.

For Jellied Cranberry Sauce

• After cranberries soften, run cranberries through a fine mesh sieve or food mill to remove skins and pulp. Return juice to the saucepan.
• Process half pint or pint jars for 15 minutes, adjusting for elevation. See recipe notes below for details. Start the timer after water in the canning pot comes back to a boil. Let jars rest in the hot water for at least 5 minutes. Remove jars with a jar lifter tool, to the counter, placed on a tea towel.
• Check for seal after 12-24 hours. (Lid should not flex up or down when pressed in the center. If jars did not seal, you can reprocess with new lids or store it in the fridge for a few weeks opened. Jars can also be stored in the freezer.
• Be sure to label your jars with the contents and date so that you can use it before it goes bad.