My First Encounter with Fresh Cranberries + Fresh Cranberry Juice

After eating all those tart dried cranberries, I naturally thought fresh cranberries would be tart. I was wrong. My first fresh cranberry (I chose the reddest one out of the bag) was comparable to a lime. Manufactured dried cranberries must have a TON of sugar in them! So after realizing I did not like eating cranberries by itself, I set out to make my next favorite cranberry product, cranberry juice! I love cranberry juice but sometimes begrudged the sweetness of store-bought bottled juice, and making my own was the best way to fix that. I made a big pot and in one day, with my aunts coming over and my mom scrounging the fridge, the juice was gone!

Fresh Cranberry Juice
Savor. Devour.

Materials:

· 2 cups fresh cranberries, rinsed

· 8 cups water

· 4 tbsp agave syrup* (I like the taste of this more than sugar, and it is healthier too)

** If you do not have this, you can just substitute it with 3 tbsp sugar, or more, if you like a sweeter juice.

Procedures:

· In a pot, add 8 cups of water and heat until boil on high heat.

· Add the cranberries and cover the pot with a lid. Turn the heat down to medium, make sure the water is on a rolling boil. In about 5 minutes, you will hear popping coming from the pot. That is the sound of the cranberries cracking open. Let the cranberries cook for 15 minutes. Turn off heat.

· Lift the lid and add whatever sweetener you are using. I recommend adding the sweetener in parts and tasting the juice after you stir, so you can stop when you feel the juice is right for you.

· Let cool and store in the fridge.