WWII Thanksgiving: Cranberry Sauce

A WWII Thanksgiving dinner from 1944: Candied Sweet Potatoes, Oyster Dressing, and Molded Cranberry Sauce

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City/Region: United States of America

Time Period: 1944

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During WWII, the United States government went to great lengths to keep its promise to provide Thanksgiving dinner to all of its troops, wherever they were. One such feat was the Great Turkey-Lift of 1944, when the government got ahold of 3.2 million pounds of turkey, put them on the merchant vessel SS Great Republic in New York City, then transferred them to a fleet of refrigerated trucks in France, where Thanksgiving dinner was distributed to nearly 2 million American men and women. And what is Thanksgiving turkey without cranberry sauce?

This cranberry sauce is just as jiggly as the stuff from the can and is a wonderful red color. I really like it, but it is a lot sweeter than most modern ones. It’s almost like a dessert, which I don’t mind at all.

“Pick-over cranberries. Wash. Drain. Add water.
Heat to boiling temperature. Cook until all the skins pop open.
Strain through fine sieve. Stir in sugar.
Heat to boiling point. Cook 5 minutes.
Skim. Pour into molds or pans. Chill until firm. ”

— The Cook Book of the United States Navy, 1944

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Ingredients:

• 1 lb (450 g) fresh cranberries
• 2 cups (480 ml) water
• 1 lb (450 g) sugar

Instructions:

1. Wash and drain the cranberries, then add them to a pot with the 2 cups of water and bring it to a boil on the stove. Boil for a few minutes, or until all of the cranberry skins have popped open.
2. Set a sieve over a second pot and pour the cranberries and water through the sieve. Press as much of the juice out of the cranberries as possible. Scrape the fine pulp on the underside of the sieve into the pot as well, then discard the skins.
3. Stir the sugar into the sieved cranberry mixture. Set it over medium heat and bring it to a boil. Let it boil for 5 minutes, then skim the foam off the top.
4. Pour the cranberry sauce into a pan or mold and chill until firm.
5. Serve it forth with roast turkey, Candied Sweet Potatoes, and Oyster Dressing.

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