Grandma's Famous Cranberry Salad Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why is my cranberry salad runny? ›

The simplest reason that your cranberry sauce is too runny is that it has too much liquid in it. Usually, this is just water, but some people use orange juice or other flavored fluids. No matter what you're using, the answer is to cook it longer.

Yes, Craisins® Sweetened Dried Cranberries work well in baked goods; however, there is a 1/4 cup (60 mL) difference in measurement. If a recipe calls for one cup of fresh cranberries you should use 3/4 cup (175 mL) of Craisins®.

Is it safe to eat cranberries raw? Cranberries are generally considered safe whether they are cooked or raw. However, because of their notoriously bitter, sharp taste, most people prefer not to eat them raw or unsweetened. This bitterness is due to the high tannin content of cranberries.

Cranberries provide a good source of various vitamins and antioxidants. Historically, Native Americans used cranberries as a treatment for bladder and kidney diseases, while early settlers from England used them to treat poor appetite, stomach complaints, blood disorders, and scurvy.

Dear Evelyn: I had the same problem when I first started making my own cranberry sauce. I found out that you should cook them just until they pop. Further cooking will make them bitter, and once that happens, you need to start again.

Put your dried fruit in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Let it steep for 10 to 15 minutes, and then strain the fruit and discard the water. The fruit will be plumper, juicier, and softer. To give your fruit some extra flavor, swap the water for fruit juice or a liquor, like rum, bourbon, or brandy.

If cranberries are frozen then removed from the freezer then thawed, they will have a soft texture and are usable for cooking and baking. Adding frozen cranberries to recipes is often recommended.

Our Pick: Raisins

In this nutrition faceoff, raisins win because they offer a high amount of potassium and have no sugar added. Practically speaking, both raisins and dried cranberries can be part of a diet consisting of minimally processed foods.

2. Red Currants. Red currants are the closest substitute for cranberries if you can't find cranberries in any form. They have a similar tart flavor and work well as a 1:1 substitute in most recipes.

Ocean Spray juice products do not contain preservatives and must be capped tightly and refrigerated after opening. While we cannot say exactly how long our juice products will stay fresh after opening, in general they may be kept refrigerated for two to three weeks.

Why is cranberry sauce so expensive? ›

But that's not the case for prepared cranberry sauces, where prices are up. Lochner pointed out that processors set those prices, not growers, and that there are higher input costs unrelated to berries — like “processing the fruit and getting it to market.” Ocean Spray isn't immune either.

One possibility is that you may not have used enough sugar: Sugar helps the sauce firm up, so be sure to use the full amount called for in a recipe. Another possibility is that the cranberries need to boil for longer, releasing their pectin and ensuring a jelly consistency.

Why is my cranberry sauce so seedy? Cranberries do have seeds inside them. Sometimes, when using frozen cranberries, if it does not cook long enough, the seeds may not break down. This can cause the sauce to taste seedy.

Raw, unsweetened American cranberries contain mainly 87% water and 12% carbohydrates, with lesser amounts of protein, fats and fiber (Table 1) [11]. Small cranberries accrue 2.1–4.9% titrable acidity with citric acid contributing 1.8–2.6%.

Raw cranberries are 87% water, 12% carbohydrates, and contain negligible protein and fat (table). In a 100 gram reference amount, raw cranberries supply 46 calories and moderate levels of vitamin C, dietary fiber, and the essential dietary mineral manganese, each with more than 10% of its Daily Value.

Cranberries are a native North American fruit and a Thanksgiving staple for many families. Cranberries are potent sources of antioxidants, specifically from a subclass of flavonoids called proanthocyanidins, which are unique to and abundant in cranberries.