Do Some Cranberry Sauce Science!

It’s food. It’s tradition. And guess what: Cranberry Sauce is also science! This year on Thanksgiving, we invite you and your child to try the simple recipe below. You’ll explore the effects of pectin, a complex carbohydrate that is found in the skins and cores of many kinds of fruit. Take just a few cups of cranberries, add sugar, water, and heat, and watch what happens. When you’re all done, make sure you eat some, too. We think it’s truly delicious!

What You Need:

• 4 cups of cranberries (approximately one 16-ounce bag)
• 2 cups sugar
• 1-1/2 cups water
• Deep saucepan
• Long handled spoon

What You Do:

1. First, wash and pick over your cranberries.
2. Mix the sugar and water in your saucepan, and bring the mixture to a boil. Cook over medium heat until the sugar has completely melted, and the solution is clear. (Psst: this is an example of crystalline sugar dissolving into water to form a solution).
3. Now add the cranberries all at once, and turn your burner heat up to high. Invite your child to look at the mix and stir with you, while taking care that his face isn’t too close to the mixture, which can spatter. At first, the cranberries will float and bob. Within a few minutes, however, you’ll watch them start to pop open and turn the whole mixture bright red.
4. Keep stirring as the mixture cooks. Quite quickly—within 5-10 minutes on most stovetops—you’ll feel the whole batch thicken substantially. Take it off the heat, stir a little more, and then pour it into glass jars or a pyrex storage container which have either been run through a very hot dishwasher or sterilized in boiling water. Let it cool…and watch it thicken some more. Store in the fridge for up to two weeks before serving, or just enjoy right away!

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