This Thanksgiving, trade in the tin can for this Easy Cranberry Sauce Recipe! Make a full flavored holiday cranberry sauce with tart cranberries, sweet cherries and zesty orange.
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Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Cranberry sauce is one of my favorite things about Thanksgiving. I grew up eating the sauce shaped like a can and it was my favorite even back then. Several years ago I finally decided to give a homemade Cranberry Sauce Recipe a try . . . Mind Blown!
First of all, how did I not know how simple it is to make cranberry sauce at home? Second, you can add whatever flavors and ingredients you want. Make it tangy, sweet, savory or even spicy.
Last year I made Cranberry Apple Sauceand for this Thanksgiving I decided to make Cranberry Cherry Sauce. Both are great if you like your sauce to be sweet and tangy.
This post has two recipes for the price of one! Make a large batch of cranberry sauce and use some to make an extra Thanksgiving dessert.
And if you have any leftovers, be sure to check out my Cranberry Sauce Smoothie Recipe!
This Thanksgiving, trade in the tin can for this Easy Cranberry Sauce Recipe! Make a full flavored holiday cranberry sauce with tart cranberries, sweet cherries and zesty orange.
Ingredients
Cranberry Sauce
1 Cup Dark Cherry Juice
Juice and Zest of 1 Large Orange
1 Cup Sugar
1/4 tsp Salt
1 Cup Dried Cherries
24 oz Fresh Cranberries, sorted & cleaned
For Cranberries & Cream
1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
1/4 Cup Sugar
Cool Whip
Instructions
Cranberry Sauce
Combine the cherry juice, orange juice, zest, sugar and salt in a large saucepan.
Over medium heat, dissolve the sugar while stirring for about 3-4 minutes.
Add the cherries and cranberries. Partially cover pot with lid or foil to prevent spatter.
Cook for 10-12 minutes, stir frequently the last 5 minutes.
Remove from heat, transfer to a container and store in the refrigerator.
...........
For Cranberries and Cream
Leave about 2 cups of cranberry sauce in the pan and decrease the heat to medium/low.
Add the heavy cream and sugar.
Stir and heat until the sugar dissolves. (about 1-2 minutes)
Remove from heat, transfer to a container and refrigerate until cold.
Serve cold with generous amounts of Cool Whip!
Notes
This cranberry sauce and cranberry dessert are better if prepared the day before and refrigerated overnight.
Nutritional information on WonkyWonderful is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
Cranberries and Cream will be a new and interesting Thanksgiving dessert option. And a little bit goes a long way!
I have been making my own for awhile now-love adding blueberries to mine along with orange. Love the idea of adding cream-thank you
Reply
Skysays
Made your recipe, wow wonderful!! I have never made cranberry (sauce) before, super easy and taste wonderful. PS l never was a cranberry kind of person. Side not I had someone who like marshmallow(s) in cranberry sauce, but l actually used the *mrshmallow gravy from your mashed sweet potato casserole, with the already creamed sauce. They loved loved it!!
Reply
Nicole Harrissays
I’m so glad you like it! I can eat homemade cranberry sauce by the bowl-full … especially with cream. I like your idea to use the marshmallow gravy. I’ll have to try that sometime!
Dear Evelyn: I had the same problem when I first started making my own cranberry sauce. I found out that you should cook them just until they pop. Further cooking will make them bitter, and once that happens, you need to start again.
Dear Evelyn: I had the same problem when I first started making my own cranberry sauce. I found out that you should cook them just until they pop. Further cooking will make them bitter, and once that happens, you need to start again.
Try reducing the sauce down even further so more of the liquid cooks off and the mixture thickens. If that doesn't work, add a thickener like gelatin, pectin or a cornstarch slurry (cornstarch whisked into juice or water). Let the sauce cool before refrigerating to completely set.
Adding a teaspoon or two of fresh lemon or orange zest, a tablespoon of chopped candied peel, or even a splash of juice to your canned sauce will brighten flavors and bring in some homemade flavor.
Why didn't my cranberry sauce thicken? Cranberries have a lot of natural pectin, the ingredient that makes cooked fruit gel. To release that pectin, you need to cook the berries until they burst and can form a bond with the sugar.
If your cranberry sauce is too thick, it's most likely overcooked. When you cook cranberries (or any berries), they burst, releasing pectin—a natural thickener. The key to a perfect consistency is to allow some but not all of the cranberries to split open—something you'll achieve with less time on the stove.
"Instead, start by stirring in one tablespoon maple syrup and one teaspoon of a sweet drink like apple juice, orange juice, or fruity white or red wine. Add more to taste. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt (in small amounts, it intensifies sweetness)."
What to do if the cranberry sauce is too thin or loose. If you inadvertently added too much water, simply bring the cranberry sauce back to the stove top and bring it to a low boil, cooking it down just a bit to help thicken it up.
Some sugar is added to tame the tartness of the berries, while warm spices like cinnamon and star anise infuse together with the juice and peel of fresh orange, creating a perfectly balanced condiment.
Cranberry sauce is supposed to be a balance of sweet and tart. The sauce acts as a cleansing port in a tumultuous storm of fat and salt, but the effect is lost if the sauce is too sweet. Luckily, there is a very easy way to fix an over-sugared homemade sauce: You just need a little citric acid.
The sauce will thicken as it cools. If you want a cranberry mold that holds its shape, continue to boil the mixture so that more pectin is released from the fruit, additional water evaporates, and the sauce becomes thick enough to set into a firm gel.
The cans are "filled and labeled upside down with the rounded edge on top and the sharp can-like edge on the bottom to keep the jelly whole." This creates an air bubble vacuum on the rounded side (the top) so customers "can swipe the edge of the can with a knife to break the vacuum and the log will easily slide out."
For a too-thin sauce, try adding a slurry (equal parts flour and water, whisked together) or beurre manie (equal parts softened butter and flour, kneaded together to form a paste)—both are ideal thickeners for rich and creamy sauces, such as steak sauce recipes.
Is cranberry sauce supposed to be hot or cold? Either! Some prefer to have it served fresh and warm, straight out of the pot, while others need it completely cooled down to enjoy the flavours. Personally, we prefer cooled sauce.
Cranberries are often cooked with so much sugar overwhelming their natural acidity. Consider starting with half as much sugar as a recipe calls for and then adding to suit yourself. Because of that acidity they shouldn't be cooked in an aluminum pan because they will take on a metallic taste.
A good cranberry sauce should be tart with balanced sweetness. It should have distinct cranberry flavor—complementary notes like cinnamon, allspice, and citrus are welcome, as long as they didn't overpower the berry.
Cranberry sauce is supposed to be a balance of sweet and tart. The sauce acts as a cleansing port in a tumultuous storm of fat and salt, but the effect is lost if the sauce is too sweet. Luckily, there is a very easy way to fix an over-sugared homemade sauce: You just need a little citric acid.
Introduction: My name is Kareem Mueller DO, I am a vivacious, super, thoughtful, excited, handsome, beautiful, combative person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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