Cranberry Sauce-What Went Wrong?

[jte1130]

It goes against everything a cooking lover believes in but I've always been partial to cranberry sauce that comes out shaped like the can.
This year I decided I would forgo my favorite cranberry sauce and make my own. It smelled great. Tasted wayyyyyy too tart though. Where did I go wrong? Or did I not go wrong at all. Is homemade cranberry sauce naturally tart? The recipe was as follows:

1/2 pound fresh cranberries
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups water
3 tablespoons cornstarch

Put the cranberries, orange and lemon zest, orange and lemon juice, sugar, vanilla, and 1 1/2 cups of the water in a medium-size nonreactive saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and cook for 8 minutes.

[chefATL]

Originally Posted by jte1130

It goes against everything a cooking lover believes in but I've always been partial to cranberry sauce that comes out shaped like the can.
This year I decided I would forgo my favorite cranberry sauce and make my own. It smelled great. Tasted wayyyyyy too tart though. Where did I go wrong? Or did I not go wrong at all. Is homemade cranberry sauce naturally tart? The recipe was as follows:

1/2 pound fresh cranberries
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups water
3 tablespoons cornstarch

Put the cranberries, orange and lemon zest, orange and lemon juice, sugar, vanilla, and 1 1/2 cups of the water in a medium-size nonreactive saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and cook for 8 minutes.

First off, not nearly enough sugar. I use 3 cups per pound. secondly, you need to cook your cranberry sauce longer. For 1 pound I cook mine at a low simmer for roughly 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

[jte1130]

For that amount of cooking time do the berries disintigrate? I was left with some solid but soft berries and some that were total mush.

[Suzanne]

Yes, cranberries are naturally VERY tart, and the added lemon juice makes the sauce more so. I don't know that I'd use quite as much sugar as chefATL suggests, but 1/2 cup does seem like too little. As for the cooking time, some whole, some soft, and some disintegrated sounds right. If you want them all to get soft, cook it a few minutes longer. Finally, no need for the cornstarch. If you use more sugar and bring it to a good boil for a few minutes, it will thicken on its own.

I hope you kept any leftover, because you can fix it! Put it back in a pot, heat it, stir in sugar a tablespoonful at a time until the sugar has melted and it all tastes right to you, and then refrigerate in a clean container.

BTW: I also love the stuff in the can!

[Mezzaluna]

My mom always used a cup per bag of fresh cranberries, but sometimes more was needed- they are a natural produce and vary a little. I noticed that when I made cranberry relish (uncooked) this year; it needed a couple of tablespoons more than a cup of sweetening (I used a cup of Splenda and a couple of tablespoons of sugar, along with a whole small orange and a whole small lemon.)

[Nicko]

I don't add lemon, orange yes, a bit of clove. Also, for a 1 lb bag of fresh cranberries I use 1 cup of sugar. It doesn't have to cook very long at all just till the berries start to pop and it thickens.

[castironchef]

I like it tart, so I only use 1/2 cup sugar per bag of cranberries. Most people go with a full cup.

However, if you're used to the canned stuff, you're also used to very, very sweet cranberry sauce.

As for cooking time, with the simple syrup and berries method, you only need to bring to a boil for 5 minutes or so (until you hear the berries popping) and then simmer for a bit. When it cools, the sauce will be thickened by the cranberries' pectin and will be a chunky with the burst berries.

If you're looking for a sweet, smooth, gelatinous mass like the one with ridges, stick with the canned stuff.

[Jock]

I suppose the amount of sugar depends somewhat on what liquid you use to make the sauce.

I sometimes have used apple juice, OJ, plain water and this year (from Bon Appetit) mulled wine. They all need different amounts of sugar. Generally speaking though, about a cup per 12 oz bag.

Jock

If I'm allowed to post a recipe here ....
here's mine for homemade cranberry sce:

Take about a one foot stretch of cheese cloth and , open it up and fold it into a square

put in the center :
2 cinnamin sticks
1 TBSP whole cloves
1 TBSP whole black peppercorns
A couple of pieces of whole allspice
Wrap it up and twist it at the top and tie it with kitchen twine with enough to also tie it to the handle of the pot
When the recipe is finished you can put it in some hot water in a small cup and put it in the center of the table this will give off a nice aroma in the room
Take 2 large oranges and take a potato peeler and peel the outside skin off all the way around leaving the white pith behind which will make the sauce bitter. You can take this one step further you can by putting the zest in boiling water for about 15 seconds and then draining it . This will will remove even a little more of the bitterness and help release some of the oils in the skin. Julienne the zest thinly in 1" lengths and set aside. Now section the oranges to remove all the pulp and seeds. Take the pulp of the oranges and squeeze out the remaining juice into the pot...set the sections aside....

Ingredients:
4 cups of fresh cranberries (rinsed)
2 cups of pottable water(from a Brita pitcher etc..)
1.75 -2.5 cups sugar(to taste)
zest,juice and sections from 2 large navel oranges

1 package of sugar free Jello
(strawberry or rasberry 3oz)

The amounts of sugar can vary according to your taste
Same goes for the water as to how thick you want the sauce to be
METHOD:
Bring the water to a boil...back out enough to dissolve the jello and then add it back into the big pot ...add the berries,the bouguet of spices and the rest
of the ingredients except for the orange sections & cook for about 10minutes
or until the berries star to burst.
Simmer for a few minutes until the right consistency is reached and then remove the bouquet of spices and fold in the orange sections gently....chill overnight...it will thicken slightly when fully chilled..

Once the berries start to burst your pretty much done. After that it all depends on what kind of texture you want your sce to have and how thick you want it as to how much longer you cook it ,always monitoring the level of sweetness. Wth this type of sauce you can always put in more sugar or whatever kind of sweetener you're using . It will be harder to undo if you add too much !

I use this same sauce for a cranberry orange oatmeal cookie crust cheese cake(water bath) . Once the batter is in the pan I just fold in the cranberry sce gently to create a marble effect and sprinkle orange zest on top.....It is Yummy and a perfect dessert for this time of year.....!!!

[shahed]

mines very simillar to chefatl's

Very simple and works perfectly

1lb cranberries
2.5 cups caster suger
cover with water
simmer for 1-2hrs until sauce reaches required consistency

[lentil]

Mine also uses 1.5c sugar/lb of cranberries, but I add 1T horseradish and 1T dijon mustard. I bring it to a boil, simmer for a few minutes and it is perfectly gelled. The horseradish and mustard are added after I take it off the heat.