Cranberry Orange Sauce Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How long does orange cranberry sauce last? ›

You can make cranberry-orange sauce ahead and take a little pressure off the biggest cooking day of the year! Homemade orange-cranberry sauce will keep well covered and refrigerated for 10-14 days.

Cranberries and orange juice combine with agave to create a festive drink that's a beautiful holiday red, has all the sweet and tangy flavors of the season, and just makes the holiday feel so much more merry and bright. It's a great drink to serve to family and friends around the fire on a cold Christmas day.

There is an important difference between cranberry sauce and cranberry relish and that is that cranberry relish is made from raw ingredients blended in a food processor (it's more fresh and tart tasting) and cranberry sauce is cooked and often much sweeter than relish.

Jelling. Homemade cranberry sauce is meant to thicken, or “jell,” while cooking. If it stays soupy, that could mean a couple of things. 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.

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!

Regardless of a can's date, toss out any cranberry sauce cans that are leaky, rusted, bulging, or severely dented. If the top of the can is rounded instead of flat, the cranberry sauce has most likely gone bad. If you open the can and anything is brown or black, toss the can and its contents ASAP!

Add A Splash Of Vinegar

Their sharp tang counteracts bitter flavors without having to add extra sugar. While citrus is a natural pairing for cranberry sauce, bright, savory vinegars like sherry vinegar, balsamic vinegar, and apple cider vinegar play well with the bitter-tart berries.

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 cold? You'll want to cool your homemade cranberry sauce to room temperature first, as hot liquids can crack pretty serving dishes! After that, chilling it will not only help the cranberry sauce thicken and gel, but it preserves it as well.

Mistake #4: Your Cranberry Sauce Is Too Bitter

Obviously, we can't lose the cranberries, but you can swap out the water for orange juice, apple cider or grape juice. The sugar, while necessary, doesn't need to be granulated. Maple syrup, brown sugar and even honey can make your cranberry sauce more dynamic.

How to jazz up cranberry sauce? ›

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.

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.

Store-bought orange sauce, unopened, can last in your pantry for up to 12 months if stored at constant room temperature, but once opened needs to be refrigerated and typically lasts for 1-2 weeks after the printed date on the package. However, if you freeze it, the sauce can extend its life for up to 6 months.

Once open, it can be stored in a container with a tightly fitting lid for up to two weeks. Just make sure to remove it from the can before storing, and don't freeze it as it could become watery upon thawing.

Where is the expiry date on Ocean Spray cranberry sauce? Ocean Spray best-by dates are in the format 11Mar13. The first 2 digits are the day, next 3 letters the month and the last 2 are the year.

Here are your options for making it in advance: Refrigerator: Make it up to 2-4 days before serving, store in an airtight container, and keep chilled in the fridge. (Keep in mind, cranberry sauce typically thickens as it cools.) Freezer: Cranberry sauce can be frozen for up to 2-3 months.