Cranberry Orange Sauce Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why is my homemade cranberry sauce not thickening? ›

One possibility is that you may not have used enough sugar: Sugar helps the sauce firm up, so be sure to use the full amount called for in a recipe. Another possibility is that the cranberries need to boil for longer, releasing their pectin and ensuring a jelly consistency.

One 12-ounce bag of cranberries makes about 2 1/4 cups of basic cranberry sauce—in my house, that's enough for about five people. Going the canned route? You'll need at least one can for six people.

It's perfectly fine to serve up cranberry sauce — whole berry or jelled — straight out of the can. But in my experience, heating the canned sauce up takes its flavor to the next level. Plus, it becomes a little more aesthetically pleasing.

Top with dried or fresh fruits

Sure, you can go all meta with some dried cranberries or sliced fresh raw cranberries, but I also like to think about complementary flavors — dried cherries, dried mulberries, golden raisins, chopped apricots. All work great with cranberry sauce.

If you have followed these instructions, and for some reason the sauce still won't gel, add 1 envelope of unflavoured gelatin to the sauce and bring to a hard boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to medium-high; cook an additional 5 minutes.

The most readily available sauce-thickener is flour. 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.

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.

Sugar helps the thickening process, and while it's nice to try to keep your cranberry sauce from being too sugary sweet, you will need at least some sugar to make it work well (about 1/2 cup sugar per 12-ounce bag of cranberries).

If cranberry sauce is cooked enough (until the berries pop), the pectin in the fruit will cause it to naturally thicken. It will continue to thicken as it cools, so if your sauce isn't as thick as you'd like, chill it for an hour or two.

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.

Should homemade cranberry sauce be served warm or cold? ›

Should cranberry sauce be served warm or cold? You could, of course, serve it straight out of the pot, but I think it's best after it's chilled in the fridge. Chilling it helps it firm up some more in the fridge, plus, serving it this way means you can make it days ahead of a holiday.

When to Toss Cranberry Sauce. Cranberry sauce will last for two hours at room temperature. Homemade cranberry sauce will last in the fridge for 10 to 14 days. Canned cranberry sauce that has been opened will last up to a week in the fridge.

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.

Though they won't tolerate runny sauce, so it's time to fix that. The simplest reason that your cranberry sauce is too runny is that it has too much liquid in it. Usually, this is just water, but some people use orange juice or other flavored fluids. No matter what you're using, the answer is to cook it longer.

Cranberries contain natural pectin and will gel without any additions. Cook until the berries pop to release the juices and then simmer another 5 minutes or so. It will not seem thick then but will thicken as it cools. If you really want it thicker, you can add additional pectin with a product such as Sure-Jell.

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.

Cranberries contain natural pectin and will gel without any additions. Cook until the berries pop to release the juices and then simmer another 5 minutes or so. It will not seem thick then but will thicken as it cools. If you really want it thicker, you can add additional pectin with a product such as Sure-Jell.

When the cranberries are heated, the berries begin to break down and pop open. The pectin is then released and reacts with the sugar and juices to form long polymers and thicken the sauce. This process creates the cranberry sauces and jellies which are so familiar at holiday dinners.

In a small cup make a slurry with cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water. Whisk cornstarch mixture into cranberry sauce and cook, whisking, until sauce thickens.