Cranberry Sauce is quintessential during Holiday Season. This sauce might look daunting to make, but gosh it gets ready in only 10 mins. This recipe is very easy to make, and all the ingredients should be available at your nearest grocery store.
Cranberries and Oranges are literally match-made in heaven. I really love the classic sweet and tart version of this beautiful sauce.
What is Cranberry Sauce?
Cranberries are in season during fall. And perhaps the berries that scream HOLIDAYS. This classic recipe is made with cranberries and orange juice along with whole spices, herbs, and sugar. I like to add orange zest to it, as it perfumes this sauce so beautifully.
This sauce is one pot recipe, which literally is to dump all the ingredients, bring it to a boil, cool and store it. Yes, it is this easy. I love to pair this sauce with some toasted bread, brie, or goat cheese, add it to my drinks, or just enjoy it with some crackers.
Ingredients to Make Cranberry Orange Sauce
All these ingredients are easily available at your nearest grocery store. I will mention alternatives and substitutions here as well.
- Cranberries - As the name suggests fresh cranberries are very essential for this recipe. These berries have a tart taste and they are available from October in grocery stores. Wash and rinse your cranberries well before using them.
- Sugar - I use refined sugar in this recipe to keep it classic, but to make it healthy you can definitely use the sweetener of your choice. Palm Sugar, Honey, and Date Syrup work well too. if you are using honey or date syrup, I like to add it once the sauce comes to a rolling boil.
- Oranges - Since cranberries have a tart flavor, we will be using Navel Oranges. This variety of orange has sweet and delicious, which brings a great flavor to this sauce. We will be using orange zest as well as orange juice.
- Herbs - We will be using both fresh rosemary and thyme for this recipe. They give a beautiful earthy aroma and flavor to the sauce which is irreplaceable. If you don't get fresh herbs, replace them by adding about 1 Tsp of each dried rosemary and thyme in the sauce.
- Whole Spices - Cinnamon Sticks and Star Anise are the show stoppers. The flavors are subtle yet very prominent. These spices infuse the sauce with their scent to just make it taste absolutely delicious.
Expert Tips to Make this Sauce
- Use a heavy bottom saucepan to make this sauce. This will ensure that your saucepan heats up well and cooks the sauce evenly.
- Cook the sauce on medium flame to avoid burning it.
- Make this sauce at least one day before you plan to serve it. It needs to be chilled for a couple of hours for its beautiful marmalade-like texture.
- To store this sauce, let it cool down completely, and store it in an airtight glass jar for 10 days in the refrigerator.
- Freeze the sauce to enjoy it for up to a year. To freeze the sauce, cool it completely. Transfer it to a freezer-safe ziplock. Make sure you flatten the sauce evenly and take the excess air out. Don't forget to mention the date of freezing on your ziplock. Enjoy it for an entire year.
More Recipes From the Blog
Cranberry Orange Sauce
Equipment
- 1 Heavy Bottom Saucepan
Ingredients
- 12 Oz Fresh Or Frozen Cranberries
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 1 Sprig Rosemary Fresh/Dried
- 1 Sprig Thyme Fresh/Dried
- 2 Cinnamon Sticks
- 1 Star Anise
- 1/4 Tsp Salt
- 1 Tbsp Orange Zest
- 1 Tsp Ginger Freshly Grated
- 1 Cup Orange Juice
Instructions
- Zest the orange. With a zester scrape the orange peel and keep it on the side. Next grate fresh ginger and keep it aside.
- Next squeeze fresh orange juice and keep it aside.
- In a saucepan add yours washed, rinsed and drained cranberries on medium heat.
- To this add the sugar, orange zest, freshly grated ginger, salt, cinnamon sticks, star anise, fresh rosemary and fresh thyme. Give everything a mix.
- Add orange juice and mix again.
- On medium heat let the sauce come to a rolling boil. Mix it every 2 minutes to make sure it doesn't stick or burn. If you don't like whole cranberries in your sauce, use a masher to mash the berries once they soften.
- Turn off the flame, once the sauce becomes thicker and the cranberries have melted.
- Cool it completely and store in a clean airtight glass jar for 10 days in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Read the blog carefully.
- If you don't like orange juice, replace it with water or store-bought mango juice.
- Adjust the sweetness as per your liking. I like the sweet-tart flavor of this sauce.
- Read the expert tips to know the storage instructions.
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