How to Can Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Homemade cranberry sauce — tart, sweet, and full of holiday flavor! Learn how to make and can this timeless classic so you can enjoy it all year long.

Author: Constance Smith - Cosmopolitan Cornbread

Ingredients

9 c cranberries fresh or frozen
3 ¾ c orange juice see note below
1 ½ c maple syrup
1 ½ c honey
½ teaspoon butter unsalted, optional (see recipe note)

Instructions

To begin, prepare your pint canning jars and canning equipment. Always start with freshly washed tools, jars, etc. Jars should be heated for canning.
Combine the cranberries, orange juice, maple syrup, honey and butter in your large, non-reactive pot.
Bring the mixture to a boil, and boil until the cranberries have popped open and the liquid has thickened up a bit. Stir continually to prevent this from foaming up and boiling over. Be diligent to watch out for it. Boil for 20 minutes, until the berries have all popped and the liquid has thickened.
Use an immersion blender to puree the cranberries smooth. If you would like to leave the berries more whole you can. It is simply according to your preference.
Ladle the cranberry sauce into hot jars leaving 1/2 inch head space.
Remove any bubbles with a bubble wand, then wipe the rim of the jars with a damp cloth dipped in white vinegar.
Place a lid and ring on the jar and place the jar in the hot water bath or steam canner. Do this with all of the jars.
Process the jars for 15 minutes. (See the note about adjusting time for elevation in the article above. Processing times for canning recipes are always give for under 1000 ft elevation. You must make adjustments if you live at a higher environment.)
After the jars have processed, turn off the heat.
If using a hot water bath canner, go ahead and remove the lid and let the canner rest for 5 minutes.
If using a steam canner, leave the lid on while it rests 5 minutes. Only then remove the lid afterwards.
Transfer the jars to a lined surface in a draft-free location and let them sit for 12-24 hours. You can cover your counter with folded kitchen towels, or use canning mat or a cooling rack.
Remove the rings, test the seals, wash and label the jars. Store them away in the pantry.
Enjoy your homemade cranberry sauce!

Notes

Note: Butter helps prevent the cranberry sauce from foaming up quite so much, and reduce the risk of it boiling over. It will foam some while it is actively boiling, but then the foam goes away as soon as you remove it from the heat to jar it up. This is a safe and effective method.

Note: If you would like a thicker cranberry sauce, you can reduce the orange juice down to as little as 2 cups.

FOR A MORE TRADITIONAL CRANBERRY SAUCE:

Omit the honey and maple syrup.

Instead use:

4 cups granulated sugar
reduce the orange juice to 2 cups

DIRECTIONS: Cook the cranberries and orange juice together until the berries have all popped and the liquid is slightly thickened.

Puree the mixture with a blender or immersion blender.

Add the sugar (and butter) and bring the mixture to a hard boil. Boil hard, stirring continually for 3 minutes.

Jar and process as above.

See This Recipe:

https://cosmopolitancornbread.com/how-to-can-homemade-cranberry-sauce/

Equipment Used