When I was growing up there was only one kind of cranberry sauce at the holidays, the kind that is served in the shape of a can. I didn’t even know there was a sauce with actual cranberries in it, or that it could easily be made at home. Now, there are a lot of other processed foods that have many more questionable ingredients than canned cranberry sauce, so I’m not saying it’s evil or anything – just one of the many foods that I always assumed were to be bought at a store rather than made at home, just like mayonnaise, salad dressings, chocolate syrup and other “pantry basics” I’ve written about.
And just like those other basic foods, I found that not only is cranberry sauce incredibly easy to make at home, it’s also much fresher tasting. It’s even possible to strain it and make a semi-jellied sauce, if that’s your thing. But once I tried pieces of real cranberries in my sauce, there was no going back for me. I like to make sure all the berries are popped, so I mash the berries pretty good – and even one year used an immersion blender – but I like to keep some texture in the sauce.
However, there is one thing I’ve gotten rid of from those first years that I made homemade cranberry sauce using the package directions – the heaps of refined sugar. I now sweeten our cranberry sauce with only maple syrup and the natural sweetness of orange juice.
Ahhh, but what that did to the flavor! Very subtle hints of maple and a large dose of citrusy goodness – way better than the water-sugar variation I started with. And not even in the same universe as the canned stuff.
Maple sweetened orange cranberry sauce can be made days or even a week in advance of your holiday meal, taking only minutes of your time to prepare. And if you have any leftovers, they are SO good in many things – thinned with more maple syrup as a sauce for ice cream and pancakes, in sandwiches, as a sweet bread filling and as a filling for any jam-crumb bar (like this recipe instead of the apple butter) – which is probably my favorite.
Did you grow up with canned sauce – or no sauce at all? Have you made cranberry sauce at home?
- 1 bag cranberries (12 oz.), fresh or frozen
- 1 c. unsweetened orange juice
- ¾ c.-1 c. pure maple syrup (I use ¾ c. which makes a tart-sweet sauce - increase syrup to 1 c. if you'd like a sweeter sauce)
- orange zest from 1 orange (about 1 Tb.)
- Combine all the ingredients in a medium sized saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Lower heat to maintain a very soft boil and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The berries will start to pop and the sauce thicken. Mash as desired while stirring (if you'd like a smoother sauce, you can use an immersion blender before storing the sauce and it will gel a bit like canned jellied sauce).
- Transfer sauce to a lidded container and store in the refrigerator for up to a week before serving (the sauce thickens even more as it cools).
You photos are beautiful! Thanks for all your wonderful healthy recipes!!
We make homemade cranberries with 15 satsumas added to a bag of cranberries. Add less sugar but need to try your way. We are making a big batch today (X 5) and putting jars in the freezer just because we have ALOT of satsumas lying around! It freezes beautifully! Happy Thanksgiving!
Wow, that’s a lot of satsumas, but I bet it’s good. 🙂 Have a great holiday to you, too, Karen!