Ginger Cranberry Sauce with Red Wine and Orange
Sugar dissolved into red wine and orange juice before the fruit goes anywhere near the pan, then twelve minutes of simmering and no more. Crystallized ginger goes in twice, half to melt into the sauce and half off the heat so it stays chewy.
Ingredients
The Spiced Syrup
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup dry red wine something with tannin and little oak
- 2 teaspoons orange zest finely grated
- 1/4 cup orange juice freshly squeezed
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest finely grated
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 stick cinnamon whole, removed at the end
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
The Fruit and Ginger
- 12 ounces fresh cranberries one bag, or frozen straight from the freezer
- 1/4 cup crystallized ginger minced small, divided
Equipment
- Medium saucepan
- Citrus zester
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Wooden spoon or silicone spatula
Instructions
Build the Syrup
- Put the sugar, red wine, orange zest, orange juice, lemon zest, lemon juice, cinnamon stick, salt and pepper in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
- Stir for 3 to 4 minutes, until the sugar has completely dissolved and the liquid is clear. Doing this before the fruit goes in is what keeps a heavy syrup from sitting on dry berries and scorching.
Cook the Cranberries
- Add the cranberries and half the crystallized ginger. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Frozen berries need about two minutes longer.
- Stop when most of the skins have split but a handful of berries are still whole, and the sauce still slides loosely around the pan. It will look far too thin at this point, which is correct.
Cool and Finish
- Take the pan off the heat, fish out the cinnamon stick and stir in the remaining crystallized ginger so those pieces stay chewy rather than dissolving.
- Cool to room temperature in the pan, about an hour, which is when the pectin sets and the sauce thickens. Taste it cold and adjust with salt or lemon juice then, never while it is hot. Refrigerate in a sealed jar.
Notes
Stop cooking while it still looks too thin. Cranberries are high in natural pectin and pectin sets as the sauce cools, so a pan that looks correct on the stove will be solid in the refrigerator.
Cool it in the pan at room temperature, about an hour, then taste and adjust. It reads sweeter hot than it will cold.
If it sets too firm, stir in orange juice a tablespoon at a time off the heat until it loosens.
Make-ahead: 2 weeks refrigerated in a sealed jar, and it improves for the first three days. Frozen 3 months in a tub with headspace, thawed overnight and stirred hard.
This is not a canning recipe. There is deliberately not enough sugar in it to be shelf stable.
No wine: use pomegranate or unsweetened cranberry juice plus an extra teaspoon of lemon juice.
Nutrition values are an estimate.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 132kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Sodium: 148mg | Potassium: 70mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 40IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 10mg