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Fresh Cranberry Sauce

Thanksgiving is nothing without the cranberry sauce. This slightly sweet, slightly tart compote is essential at a Thanksgiving table if you ask me. And for the record, I am not talking about the canned stuff.  I believe in shortcuts at times, especially around the holidays when the sheer volume of tasks associated with hosting a holiday meal can feel overwhelming.  That said, cranberry sauce is not the area to skimp on.  Fresh cranberry sauce is one of the easiest things to make and it’s well worth it, especially for the roasted turkey and cranberry panini or other sandwich you just may need the day after.

cranberry sauce

Cranberry sauce is one of my husband’s favorite things at Thanksgiving; seriously, he looks forward to it each year. That, and the whipped sweet potato and marshmallow casserole he grew up on.  But don’t get me started on that!  Years ago, when I was newly married and hosting Thanksgiving for the first time, I made my cranberry sauce. To this day I will never forget the expression on his face when he saw what I was making: horror, and that is putting it lightly.

I knew right away what the issue was.  He, like many others, grew up eating the canned version.  Let’s face it, most of us know the canned version: the suction sound it makes when it is forced from its can, the plop it makes landing on a dish, and the perfect cylinder shape it keeps even after abruptly leaving its canned home. But this was cranberry sauce to my husband, and he had grave concerns about mine.

As well as I remember that moment, and bits of the conversation that followed while I was making the fresh cranberry sauce, I also vividly remember watching my husband have my fresh version of this holiday favorite for the very first time.  It was, in his words, “life-changing”.  Honestly, he’s right.  I also grew up with the canned cranberry sauce and never touched the stuff.  I began making fresh sauce years later out of protest, and I never heard a complaint about it.

cranberry sauce

My recipe has just a few simple ingredients: fresh cranberries (do not use frozen or dried), orange juice, orange zest, sugar, water, and vanilla extract.  It takes about 20 minutes to make with some additional chilling time and you can make it days in advance.  I make my recipe a bit on the tart side, using about half as much sugar as most recipes, because that’s what I prefer. But you can easily adjust the sweetness level by increasing the amount of sugar to your liking so be sure to experiment a bit when making it.

cranberry sauce

About the Author

Andrea Potischman

I am a professionally trained NYC chef turned CA mom and food blogger. I post about real food, with doable ingredient lists that are family friendly.

2 thoughts on "Fresh Cranberry Sauce"

  1. Avatar photo Roz Potischman says:

    I enjoy your writing almost as much as your cooking.i laughed out loud reading your amusing tale about your sauce, your husband and my son. I had forgotten his telling me “it was life-changing” since we haven’t been together for Thanksgiving in a while. I will say, your sauce looks great and sounds so easy ( 2 of my favorite food attributes). Your father-in-law likes turkey during the year so I will make yours. No more plop from the can.

    1. So glad you enjoyed this post!

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