Our cranberry sauce recipe is elevated by the inclusion of La Española Extra Virgin Olive Oil It’s fruity tasting notes and rich aroma add an extra dimension to traditional cranberry sauce recipes.
Perfect Pairings for Cranberry Sauce
Cranberry sauce has long been a firm favorite among home chefs cooking over the holiday period. Its sweet and sour taste means it works wonders as a garnish for festive turkey dishes. However, you don’t need to wait for Thanksgiving dinner to enjoy this unique-tasting treat. Cranberry makes for a perfect garnish or relish to take your meat dishes to the next level. Pair it with pork loin or tenderloin, chicken, or beef, and savor the flavor.
Health Benefits of Cranberries
For such a small fruit, the humble cranberry sure packs a nutritional punch! Rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, cranberries have been linked to improved skin, heart, and gut health. What’s more, studies suggest they may play a role in preventing urinary tract infections.
Is Cranberry Sauce Good for You?
Cranberry sauce boasts many of the same health benefits as eating these delicious berries raw. For optimal nutritional benefits, consume cranberries when they are fresh and in season. In the US, cranberries come into season in the fall and are usually harvested from September through to December, hence their popularity in Thanksgiving and Christmas meals.
Why Do People Make Cranberry Sauce for Thanksgiving?
Cranberries were popular among both natives and pilgrims in the colonies. In order to preserve them for longer, they were boiled and mixed with sugar and honey to offset their strong and sour taste. However, the most likely explanation of cranberry sauce’s popularity over the festive season comes down to its seasonality. As cranberries are readily available during the fall period, they became a natural choice for pilgrims looking to add a sweet and celebratory twist to their meat dishes. Later, in the 20th century, cranberries that were somewhat blemished or split were put aside for the purpose of making canned cranberry sauce. The availability of canned cranberry sauce all year round led to it becoming a staple relish in pantries all across the nation.
What to Do with Leftover Cranberry Sauce
The good news is that you can store cranberry sauce in the fridge, and it will keep for up to ten days. This sweet relish can then be used to elevate all kinds of meat dishes in the days that follow. Alternatively, you can add it to muffin, cake, or pie recipes as a sweet filling. There’s simply no reason to discard leftover cranberry sauce when it works wonders in both savory meat dishes and dessert recipes. The sky is well and truly the limit!
Tips for Storing Cranberry Sauce
Storing cranberry sauce is easy as long as you follow these basic guidelines.
- Once cooled, transfer your cranberry sauce to a glass or plastic container.
- Seal the container and keep it in the fridge.
- To freeze cranberry sauce, transfer the sauce to an airtight container or freezer bag and consume within 1 month.