President Ronald Reagan's "Cranberry Sauce"

Thanksgiving is here! Why not mess with the most beloved dinner item that needs no improvement: the cranberry sauce.

The jelly you find in the can, bumps and all, is the clear lord of Thanksgiving sauces. I’m sure there are excellent homemade versions that are tart and sweet, perfectly spiced or pleasantly zesty, but is this one from Ronald (and Nancy, actually) one of them?

Chef Ronald Reagan

Republican President from California

Favorite Food/Homespun Recipe: Recipe

Notable:

“Dutch;” liking the black licorice Jelly Belly flavor the most

Quotable:

“Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book.”

As always, I followed the recipe word for word, no alterations:

INGREDIENTS

3 tsp orange juice concentrate

2/3 cup water

1/2 tsp dry mustard

3.5 cups sugar

3 cups cranberries

INSTRUCTIONS

1) Mix orange juice, water, dry mustard and sugar in a large sauce pan.

2) Add the cranberries and heat until they all pop.

That’s it. The consistency is much like a jam or jelly by the end of the popping. You want to wait until the color is a rich crimson and the popping has stopped. Much like when a bag of popcorn in the microwave, you let it go too long after the last pop and you’ve got burnt treats.

Voila! If you want to actually watch me attempt to eat it, go to the Cookin’ with Congress Instagram or TikTok. The popping is fun!.There’s a real ASMR quality to making fresh cranberry sauce. That amount of sugar though…it made it look almost like candied cranberries. Or, and I don’t think I’m stretching here because of the Reagan connection, cinnamon jelly beans in syrup.

Verdict:

Instant cavity. It is so incredibly sweet, even with turkey and bread, it felt like putting an overly sugary jam on the sandwich. A little more acid and we can talk but no, no get out of here and bring me a can of jellied.