A sweet bowl of lies.
Here’s a holiday secret: cranberry sauce isn’t a sauce at all. It’s a compote. Yup, the same kind of compote you might serve on top of a slice of cheesecake or a stack of waffles. That is, it is simply a fruit cooked in syrup. Making a compote is similar to making a jam, and instead of using packaged pectin we’ll be using apple for that jelly-like quality.
Why the distinction before the recipe? Because I embrace the compote-osity of my cranberry “sauce” and don’t serve it over turkey, I serve it on the side as a companion to dessert items and treat it as such by adding toasted walnuts for texture. I am completely transparent in my love for sour fruits, however, and urge you to eat your “sauce” how you see fit!
The Ingredients:
1 lb bag of fresh cranberries
1 medium apple, diced
2 - 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup orange juice (fresh squeezed from two oranges preferred)
The zest of two oranges
2 tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch of cloves
Pinch of salt
A little squeeze of lemon juice
(Optional)
1 cup of walnut pieces, toasted
Prep-work/tips:
Don’t forget to rinse all of your fruit, including the cranberries!
You can juice an orange without a juicer. Before you zest your oranges, roll them around on the counter firmly to break up the membranes around the fruit’s juice capsules. Doing this for a few minutes will make the fruit feel softer to the touch. You can also use a pair of kitchen tongs to get a good grip on them for juicing once you’ve cut the orange in half.
To zest an orange, you will need to use a rasp or a grater with fine holes (the small size of a box cheese grater will work) to remove the colored outer skin, otherwise known as “the zest”. Be careful not to cut into the white part underneath the skin, this is called the pith and it is very bitter.
To toast your walnuts, place them on an ungreased baking sheet in a 350 degree oven for 5-7 minutes. It’s not an exact science, just pull them when they smell good and have a bit of color. This brings the nuttiness out and brings the natural oils to the surface. Raw nuts will taste a little bitter which is why I recommend this step any time you’re adding nuts to a recipe.
The recipe:
Combine sugar, orange juice, and water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar into a syrup.
Once the syrup is boiling, add the whole cranberries, orange zest, pinch of salt, and your cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
Reduce pot to a simmer and allow the cranberries to open, you will hear a “pop!” like popcorn. This can take anywhere from 8-10 minutes for all of the cranberries to burst, just take your time and stir so the sugars don’t burn at the bottom. Once most of the berries are open you can use a wooden spoon to burst the stubborn ones.
Add your diced apples and allow to cook for a few more minutes, this will release the pectin in the apples and make your compote more jelly-like.
(Optional) Reduce the heat to low and stir in your toasted walnut pieces. The oils from the walnuts will velvet your compote and make it glossy.
Reduce your heat gradually and continue stirring until cool, scraping down the sides as you stir. This step is important for anything sugar syrup based, it prevents crystallization of your compote and keeps you from having a crunchy sauce after refrigeration.
And there you have it! I recommend tasting your cranberry compote after you add in the apples but before you start the cooling process to see if it needs any more spices or sugar. If you decide to add in additional sugar to taste, don’t just dump the sugar straight in the pot—combine another 1/4 cup sugar with 1/4 cup hot water and allow it to dissolve before you add it so you don’t get any crystallization started in your dish.
Happy Cooking!
I’m committed to keeping this blog ad-free!