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The cranberry is one of the few fruits native to North America, and Massachusetts is its home. Native peoples used the wild berries long before European settlers arrived, and in the early nineteenth century Henry Hall of Dennis, on Cape Cod, is credited with first cultivating them commercially, after noticing that the vines grew best where sand blew over the bogs.

Every October, the bogs of Cape Cod and southeastern Massachusetts are flooded for the harvest, and the floating berries turn the water a vivid crimson. It is one of the great sights of a New England fall, and the reason a bowl of cranberry sauce sits on nearly every Thanksgiving table in the country.

See the harvest

The wet harvest runs from late September into early November. Plan a weekend on the Cape with our stay at the Chatham Inn, or combine it with Nantucket in the fall, where the island’s own cranberry bogs are open to walkers.

Better than the can

Homemade cranberry sauce takes 15 minutes and can be made up to a week ahead. Orange brings brightness, and a splash of port gives depth. Stop cooking as soon as most of the berries have burst; the sauce thickens as it cools.

Ingredients

Makes about 3 cups, enough for 10 to 12.

• 12 oz (340 g) fresh or frozen cranberries
• 3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
• Zest and juice of 1 orange
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) ruby port or water
• 1 cinnamon stick
• A pinch of salt

Method

1. Combine. Put the sugar, orange juice, port, cinnamon and salt in a saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
2. Cook the berries. Add the cranberries and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the berries have burst.
3. Finish. Off the heat, stir in the orange zest and remove the cinnamon stick. Taste and add a little more sugar if you like.
4. Cool. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate. It will set as it chills.

How to serve it

Cold or at room temperature with turkey, and the next day with leftover turkey in a sandwich. It is also very good with cheese.

What to pour

A juicy red that can handle the sweetness and acidity: Beaujolais cru, Pinot Noir or a Zinfandel.

Make a menu of it

Tomorrow, the turkey itself. Already in the series: Parker House rolls and a Jack Rose cocktail. Find every Thanksgiving recipe At the Table.

Photo: Burkhard Mücke, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0