Homemade Maple Cranberry Sauce (Easy Recipe!) (2024)

FAQs

How do you take the bitterness out of homemade cranberry sauce? ›

"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)."

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.

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.

Mistake #2: Your Cranberry Sauce Is Too Runny

You may have added too much liquid to the cranberries. In addition to pectin, cranberries contain water, which means you only need to add a splash of liquid to get the cooking going. Add too much and you'll be stirring at the stove much longer than expected.

Add Some Baking Soda

If your tomato sauce is too acidic and verging on bitter, turn to baking soda, not sugar. Yes, sugar might make the sauce taste better, but good old baking soda is an alkaline that will help balance the excess acid. A little pinch should do the trick.

A few things can cause tomato sauces to become bitter: Overcooked spices. Both basil and oregano can become bitter with long simmers. Add them near the end of the process.

Yes, you can freeze homemade cranberry sauce—and it works well. It's best to store it in the freezer for up to 3 months; the taste may be affected due to its water content if frozen longer. Keep this in mind when putting away your leftover sauce and use it during this optimal period as part of an easy weeknight dinner.

The homemade cranberry sauce has nearly half the calories, carbohydrates, and sugars compared to the store brand. It also has more fiber as well as potassium! Thankfully, buying cranberry sauce at the store is not the only option. We have the perfect Simple Cranberry Sauce recipe to make for the upcoming holidays!

According to Ocean Spray, the brand behind one of the most popular canned cranberry sauces, both their jellied and whole berry varieties are fine to store in either the pantry or fridge (if you prefer to serve chilled) prior to opening.

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.

Is canned cranberry sauce better than homemade? ›

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.

But why? Ocean Spray says this is to get the cranberry sauce out in one intact piece. “The rounded part of the can that looks like the bottom has an air bubble in it,” Ocean Spray's representative explains. The bubble is there so you can “break the seal the sauce makes with the can.”

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.

Sweetness: From sugar, honey, fruits or otherwise, sweetness will counteract bitter and sour flavours. It can also be used to cut down the heat of a particularly spicy meal. Saltiness: Salt plays two very important roles in flavouring a dish.

Pineapple juice: pineapple juice is a great way to naturally sweeten this cranberry juice recipe, so you can add less additional sweetener. Plus, the combination tastes delicious. Apple juice: freshly squeezed apple juice is another way to naturally sweeten the cranberry juice.

Even a small amount of baking soda significantly raises the pH of the sauce. While this reduces acidic taste, it also tamps down on the brightness that gives the tomato complexity.