Cranberry Jam Recipe | Homemade Holiday Jam - Cook with Kushi (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between cranberry sauce and cranberry jam? ›

The jellied version is solid enough to retain the shape of the container in which it's placed whereas the sauce version is much more fluid. The difference between the fluid sauce and the jelly versions comes down to pectin.

You may have added too much liquid to the cranberries. In addition to pectin, cranberries contain water, which means you only need to add a splash of liquid to get the cooking going. Add too much and you'll be stirring at the stove much longer than expected. Again, more time on the stove will fix this problem.

Consider a chutney with fresh and dried fruit, a tangy citrus marmalade, and even bacon-onion "jam." The recipes we've gathered are sweet and tart or savory and aromatic, they include the spices, nuts, and deep flavors we associate with autumn and winter, so you won't miss the cranberries one bit.

Try reducing the sauce down even further so more of the liquid cooks off and the mixture thickens. If that doesn't work, add a thickener like gelatin, pectin or a cornstarch slurry (cornstarch whisked into juice or water). Let the sauce cool before refrigerating to completely set.

Nutritional Facts Face-Off

We can see there is a significant difference in the nutrition facts between the two sauces. The homemade cranberry sauce has nearly half the calories, carbohydrates, and sugars compared to the store brand. It also has more fiber as well as potassium!

Cranberries are high in pectin, which helps them set naturally into a jelly without the need for any other thickeners. Orange zest and cinnamon are natural flavor pairings for cranberries, enhancing and complementing their tartness.

Add A Splash Of Vinegar

While citrus is a natural pairing for cranberry sauce, bright, savory vinegars like sherry vinegar, balsamic vinegar, and apple cider vinegar play well with the bitter-tart berries. Start with a little, then add more gradually. It's easy to overdo it when in comes to bold vinegars.

Fresh cranberries are harvested in the fall and are usually only available at your local grocery store from October through December. Fortunately, cranberries can be frozen for up to a year, so remember to stock up with an extra bag or two around the holidays to use throughout the year.

Although we are not adding powdered pectin, we will add citric acid or lemon juice to the jam. This gives an additional pop of pectin but also some acidity that balances the sweetness of the jam. Citric acid provides very consistent results, which is why I like to use it.

Cooking any mixture of fruit and sugar long enough will result in a jam that will set up in your canning jars. But longer cooking times can mean over-processed flavor, darkened color and a lower yield. Adding pectin allows you to cook jam for a much shorter time, which may result in the jam of your dreams.

How do you make jam thicker without pectin? ›

The secret ingredient to making jam without pectin is time. The fruit and sugar need plenty of time to cook and thicken. A long, slow boil drives the moisture out of the fruit, helping to preserve and thicken it at the same time. Fruit varies in water content as well, and some fruits may take longer to jam up.

Why didn't my cranberry sauce thicken? Cranberries have a lot of natural pectin, the ingredient that makes cooked fruit gel. To release that pectin, you need to cook the berries until they burst and can form a bond with the sugar.

"Resist adding granulated sugar—you won't get the full effect unless you reheat the sauce and the sugar dissolves," writes Kelsey Kloss. "Instead, start by stirring in one tablespoon maple syrup and one teaspoon of a sweet drink like apple juice, orange juice, or fruity white or red wine. Add more to taste.

Commercial cranberry sauce may be loose and uncondensed, or condensed or jellied and sweetened with various ingredients.

Jam is made from mashed fruit. Jelly is made from just the juice of the fruit. Sauce is made from mashed fruit but uses less pectin than jam and is less jelled. Syrup is made from either mashed fruit or just the juice of the fruit, but uses even less pectin than sauce so it is slightly jelled and pourable.

It varies, as most dishes do. But if you buy a jar of cranberry sauce or cranberry jelly, it's like a sweetish pickle, usually eaten with meat. But to me, jam is the sweet fruit conserve that you spread on bread. In the UK, I've seen a cranberry and blueberry jam from France, but not cranberry jam.

Combine cranberries, white sugar, turbinado sugar, water, orange zest, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, and pepper in a large pot over medium heat. Simmer, stirring frequently, until sugar dissolves and cranberries pop, 10 to 12 minutes. Blend cranberry jam into desired consistency using an immersion blender.

First up is a dried fruit chutney. It has a similar flavor profile to a homemade cranberry sauce without the tart, bitter cranberries. I stew dried cherries, raisins and apricots with ginger, brown sugar and spices. I add a little bit of orange juice and zest to cut the sweetness while adding a fresh flavor.