When is it best to serve cranberry sauce?
Cranberry sauce is perfect for the holiday season and would do really well for your Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas dinner. It’s also the time of year that they are in season, so no reason not to go wild on the cranberries. So all cranberry recipes are perfect for this time of year. It’s also the time of year that all grocery stores will have a good supply.
And the good news is that you can buy a bag of cranberries from the frozen section almost year round. No need to wait for winter!
What dishes can you serve with it?
You may have seen cranberry sauce in a lot of thanksgiving recipes. It is often served with roast turkey. So pairing it with meat dishes is a great choice. But the fun thing about cranberry sauce is that you can also use it with a dessert. So it goes well with both sweet dishes and savory dishes. For example, a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a slice of fudgy brownie can be topped with this delicious cranberry sauce and perhaps some sugared cranberries.
BAKING TIP: Why not make a big batch of cranberry sauce when they are in season? Great idea! Then store the sauce in jars or jelly jars. If you sterilize them beforehand, you can keep the sauce for up to a year.
Storing cranberry sauce
This festive sauce will keep very well if you store it in sterilized jars or bottles. To sterilize, place the jars or bottles in a large pan of water, bring to the boil and simmer for a few minutes. Remove them from the water with tongs and place them on a clean tea towel. There is no need to dry them as the heat will evaporate the moisture.
How long will cranberry sauce keep?
Once your jars or bottles have been sterilized, cranberry sauce will keep for up to a year. Once opened, the sauce will keep in the fridge for 1-2 weeks. I love using leftover cranberry sauce on breakfast!
Can I freeze homemade cranberry sauce?
Homemade cranberry sauce freezes very well. In the freezer, cranberry sauce can be stored for up to three months in an airtight container or freezer-safe container.