Cranberry sauce is a staple side dish and a particularly popular one at holiday meals, from Thanksgiving to Christmas. While theres always the option to make cranberry sauce from scratch, many people choose to spend their energy on other, more time-consuming side dishes and opt for ready-made canned cranberry sauce instead.
While that option may conjure up s of can-shaped cranberry jelly cylinders plopped on a dish, there are plenty of fast and simple ways to dress up canned cranberry sauce.
You can remold the jelly into an attractive side dish for your holiday meal with a little effort. Dump the cranberry sauce into a small pot and melt, stirring occasionally, over low heat until soft and smooth.
When I was growing up, my mom loved to elevate the canned cranberry sauce she served with roast chicken, potatoes, and, of course, Thanksgiving turkey
While I loved opening the plastic, bowl-shaped Ocean Spray tub and digging my spoon right into the sweet, tangy cranberry sauce, my mom often had bigger plans for jazzing it up.
For a regular weeknight meal, she would open up a can of cranberry sauce (typically the whole cranberry variety) and simply heat it up in a pot. Shed then defrost a bag of frozen mixed berries and add it to the sticky stuff simmering on the stove. It really was that simple. Advertisement
The blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries that typically come in a mixed-berry medley add their own flavors to the sauce, but they also add texture. Each berry brings something unique — strawberries hold their clunky but soft integrity, blackberries and raspberries add some seeds, and blueberries are always a welcome burst of sweetness.
While you can use fresh berries, I prefer frozen for a number of reasons. First, I only have to buy one bag of frozen mixed berries, which is usually cheaper than buying packages of four different kinds of fresh berries from the produce section. Second, when frozen berries defrost, the juices melt and become sauce-like on their own, making for an easy marriage of the berries to the cranberry sauce.
If the sauce was being prepped for a holiday meal, Mom would get a little more creative. Adding diced apples and a can of mandarin oranges (with half of the juice from the can) to cranberries as they cook down was her go-to. Shed then fold in chopped pecans for some crunch after pulling the mixture off of the stove.
The first and most basic step is knowing how to heat up canned cranberry sauce
Its perfectly fine to serve up cranberry sauce — whole berry or jelled — straight out of the can. But in my experience, heating the canned sauce up takes its flavor to the next level. Plus, it becomes a little more aesthetically pleasing. Advertisement
When youre dealing with canned whole cranberry sauce, you can pour it into a small pot and bring it to a low boil. Once it starts to boil, I lower the heat and let it simmer until Im satisfied with the temperature and texture.
If youre opting for jelled sauce, Id recommend cutting it up into large cubes and stirring them with a wooden spoon or spatula to break down the chunks. Then, you can heat it the same way as the whole-berry sauce.
You can use a microwave instead of a stovetop, but make sure you cover the microwave-safe bowl loosely with either a paper towel or a lid so that the sauce doesnt end up exploding all over the inside of the appliance. Microwave the sauce in 30-second intervals, stirring in between each interval so that you get an even cook.
Why You Should Think Twice Before Eating Canned Cranberry Sauce
FAQ
How do you fix loose cranberry sauce?
Can you melt jelly cranberry sauce?
How do you reheat jellied cranberry sauce?
Can jellied cranberry sauce be remolded?
Jellied cranberry sauce can be remolded. Commercial jellied cranberry sauce in a can has been a staple of the holiday table for decades. It is usually served in the ridged cylindrical shape that it has from being in the can, or else sliced and cut into shapes with cookie cutters.
Is jellied cranberry sauce good for our health?
That infamous block of canned cranberry sauce! Cranberry sauce can be rich in antioxidants and overall can be part of a healthy diet. I encourage you to look at the nutrition label and see how much added sugar is in the container as this will have more of an effect on our health. Ideally we want to minimize the amount of added sugar in our diets, but this is challenging for cranberries as they are tart and sour by nature. Most people do not find this palatable. So you can either elect an option that is lower in added sugar, or modify your portion size so it does not have a tremendous effect. I hope this helps. Thanks for your question! Noah, RD
Do cranberries make jellied sauce?
The natural pectin in the cranberries is all you need to make this jellied sauce. It’s surprisingly easy, too—it takes just a few minutes to measure the ingredients and then strain the thickened, jammy sauce mixture. Depending on the sieve you use to strain the sauce mixture, it may include some tiny cranberry seeds.
How do you unmold cranberry sauce?
Pour cranberry sauce into lightly oiled mold and chill, covered with plastic wrap, until firmly set, at least 12 hours. To unmold, run tip of a thin knife between edge of mold and cranberry sauce. Tilt mold sideways and tap side of mold against a work surface, turning it, to evenly break seal and loosen cranberry sauce.