Scents of the Season

Smell memories are big to me. Of all our senses, smell is the one that gets the short stick, but the one that gives me the most emotional response. Yes, I would rather lose my sense of smell than my sight or hearing, but if I did the world would be a much flatter place.

Today I made the annual Cranberry sauce. I make mine with many aromatics, like ginger and orange zest and juice. As the cranberries come to a boil and pop, they release a fragrance that screams “the holidays are here.” I heard on the news that Cranberry sauce is the most disliked part of the thanksgiving meal. I feel like those people must be eating the wrong cranberry item. There are those people devoted to the canned jellied cranberry. To me that is a whole different animal.

I like the whole berry sauce, to which I add toasted pecans right before serving. Turkey needs the bright punch of the cranberry to bring the otherwise bland bird to life. Plus the smell!

I know lots of people think peppermint, or pine for the holidays, but to me the best aroma is my cranberry sauce.

24 Oz. Fresh raw cranberries (2 bags)

2 T. Grated fresh ginger

Zest of two oranges

Juice of three oranges

1/2 cup of water

1 cup of sugar

Place it all in a big sauce pan and bring to a boil and cook until the cranberries Pop. Cool.

Right before serving add cup of toasted broken pecans pieces.