How to make homemade cranberry sauce (4 ingredients) - IM-WORTHY (2024)

FAQs

What are the ingredients in Ocean Spray jellied cranberry sauce? ›

CRANBERRIES, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, CORN SYRUP, WATER.

Instead, the pectin polymers will bind to each other, giving the cranberry mixture more and more structure. The sweet sugar-water molecules get trapped in between the pectin chains, resulting in a tasty cranberry sauce!

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.

Cranberry sauce can be served either as a gooey liquid or as a solid jelly. The jellied version is solid enough to retain the shape of the container in which it's placed whereas the sauce version is much more fluid. The difference between the fluid sauce and the jelly versions comes down to pectin.

The major variation you're likely to come across is "whole berry" versus "jellied." The only difference between them is that the jellied sauce is cooked until the berries have completely broken down. They both slide out of the can as a wobbly red cylinder.

FILTERED WATER, CRANBERRY JUICE (WATER, CRANBERRY JUICE CONCENTRATE), SUGAR, ASCORBIC ACID (VITAMIN C), VEGETABLE CONCENTRATE FOR COLOR.

Cranberry juice is usually labeled "100% juice." Other fruits are sometimes added to balance the tart cranberry taste, but that label indicates that the product is made with 100% fruit juices. Cranberry juice co*cktail, meanwhile, has added sugars or high-fructose corn syrup for extra sweetness.

Spirits are a wonderful addition to cranberry sauce, but remember that a little goes a long way. Go with spirits and fortified wines used to make other sauces, and start with port, sherry, madeira, marsala, sweet vermouth, or even bourbon. Add it to your sauce a teaspoon at a time until you get the flavor you want.

May promote a healthy immune system. Plant compounds in cranberries may modulate our immunity and as a result make us less prone to colds and flu. Cranberries are also a useful source of immune-supportive nutrients, including vitamins C and E, carotenoids as well as iron.

Cranberries may reduce insulin resistance

Eating them with a meal, even if they're sweetened as in cranberry sauce, causes a smaller increase in blood sugar levels than eating the same meal without cranberries.

What takes the bitterness out of cranberry sauce? ›

Add A Splash Of Vinegar

One of the best foils for bitter flavors are acidic ingredients, like citrus juices or vinegars. Their sharp tang counteracts bitter flavors without having to add extra 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.

Dissolve 1 to 2 tablespoons of cornstarch (depending on desired consistency of cranberry sauce) in an equal amount of cold water. Stir cornstarch paste into cranberries to thicken, then remove from heat and allow to cool about 20-30 minutes.

Did you know that cranberries boast healthy levels of vitamin C, fiber, manganese, and vitamin K, a package of nutrients rarely found in a single food! Buying cranberry sauce at the grocery store can come with extra unnecessary ingredients, such as high fructose corn syrup.

While there are some editors who prefer homemade cranberry sauce, the canned variety also has quite a following. "There's something so beautifully perfect about the texture of canned cranberry sauce, and none of those homemade mess will ever compete," says Senior Digital Food Editor Kimberly Holland.

The major variation you're likely to come across is "whole berry" versus "jellied." The only difference between them is that the jellied sauce is cooked until the berries have completely broken down. They both slide out of the can as a wobbly red cylinder.

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."