Homemade, canned jellied cranberry sauce

It’s a little sad to admit that it’s been more than 10 months since I’ve done a blog post. What a 10 months it has been! Between work and kids and farm and everything else it feels like pure survival mode. But as I realize Thanksgiving will very quickly be approaching, I found last year’s stock pile of cranberries that I bought after Christmas when they discounted them for $.99 a bag, in my deep freezer. Time to do something with them!

My family loves cranberry sauce. We eat a lot of poultry meals and they always want cranberry sauce with their poultry. I despise buying foods in aluminum lined cans. So I make much of our own foods and can them myself. This should be no surprise to you by now lol. Cranberry sauce is something I started making a few years ago. My dear friend Julie shared some absolutely amazing grape juice that she had made from wild grapes. She shared her recipe with me and I began making grape juice. Then, I realized I could do the very same thing and make cranberry juice. That led me down the rabbit hole of realizing I could make my own cranberry sauce and can it, which made me super happy! So here we are and without further ado I will jump right in. Don’t come at me with the amount of sugar! It’s kind of like jelly you’re not supposed to eat the whole jar and if you do that’s on you not me 🤣

Here’s what you’re going to need:

• 1 liquid measuring cup

• 1 zester

• 1 heavy-bottomed stockpot

• 1 long handled wooden spoon (it will end up stained just FYI)

• 1 fine mesh sieve (fancy for a fine strainer)

• 1 candy thermometer

Ingredients

• 9 cups fresh cranberries (2.5 bags)

• 4 cups sugar

• The juice of one quarter orange plus enough water to equal 3 1/2 cups

• 1 tsp zest of orange

You can double triple quadruple this recipe whatever you need to do to make enough for yourself for a while because you’re not gonna want to make it again for many many months. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Directions -

Combine the cranberries, orange juice, water, and orange zest in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 8 to 10 minutes while the cranberries start to open.

Use an immersion blender or a blender to carefully blend the mixture until it is mostly smooth. Be careful to not pull the blender out of the cranberry mix or it will splatter everywhere and make a mess. It does not need to be perfect, but the smoother the puree, the faster it'll move through the sieve so try to make sure most of the berries are fully blended.

Use a mug from Root 11 (just kidding any mug will work but theirs are the perfect size) to transfer into a fine-mesh sieve over another large pot. Alternatively if you’re careful he can also pour it into a strainer but not all of it will fit at once. Then, use a silicone spatula or wooden spoon to press it through the sieve until all that remains is a paste of little twiggy bits and seeds from the cranberries and orange zest.

What’s left should look like the above. Now is a good time to sterilize your jars if you’re going to canned this. Put them in a 210° oven for a minimum of 10 minutes without opening the door.

Back to the good stuff. Now is when you add your sugar and stir it in. Keep stirring occasionally until the sugar fully dissolves and it boils. Then you want to bring it to 215 to 217°. Watch it very closely because once it gets to that point it will very quickly foam and expand in your pan. Turn the temperature off if you’re storing in the fridge put it in a container after it cools and use it within a week. If you will be canning it, go onto the next step.

It’s always by this point I forget to take pictures but you will use a ladle and funnel to fill your jars within a quarter inch at the top. Clean the rims with a clean cloth and then put your lids and bands on finger tight. Put them in a hot water bath for 15 minutes for pints, 20 minutes for quarts if you’re brave enough to make jars that big. If your family is like mine and they eat a crap ton of this, you realize it’s easier to just do it by the quart and only open one. Once they are finished processing let them sit in the water for five minutes then remove them to let them cool. They will be super hot so make sure you use a jar grabber and set them on a thick towel so you don’t damage your table. Don’t ask me how I know. These will be shelf stable for at least a year. As long as the lid stays sealed technically you can enjoy it. This recipe makes 4 to 5 pints, or 8-10 half pints.

If you make it please let us know what you think! We hope you enjoy it ❤️