How to Can Cranberry Sauce

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Nothing beats the flavor of homemade cranberry sauce, and whether you like it jellied or with whole berries, it's not difficult to can your own. The truth is, cranberry sauce is really just a jam (or jelly)! This recipe comes from The Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving, which is a book I highly recommend. It's the whole berry version, but if you prefer the jelly-like stuff, there's a recipe for that in the same book.

This recipe assumes you know the basics of canning. If you don't, see this post, or read any Ball or Bernardin canning book from 2016 forward.

Canning Cranberry Sauce at Home

Makes about 8 jelly jars or 4 pint jars

4 cups organic, granulated sugar*

4 cups water

8 cups fresh cranberries

Zest from 1 orange**

* I recommend organic because other cane and beet sugars can be bio-engineered. It's safe to reduce the sugar in this recipe.

**The orange zest is optional, but I highly recommend it. For years, I used the smallest holes on a cheese grated to obtain zest (grated citrus peel), but a real zester works better. Here's one similar to the one I use.

1. In a large stainless steel pot, stir together sugar and water. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring until the sugar is completely dissolved. Boil hard for 5 minutes.

2. Add the cranberries and bring the mixture back to a boil. Reduce the heat and gently boil, stirring now and then, until all the berries burst open and the mixture begins to thicken. Add the orange zest to the last few minutes of cooking.

Adding cranberries.

3. Just as with jam, you'll know this mixture is sufficiently thickened when you either use the plate test or the spoon test More on those tests here. You may also use the temperature test, but only if you have an accurate, calibrated thermometer. It should take approximately 15 minutes of cooking to bring the sauce to this point.

4. Take one hot 8 oz jelly jar or pint jar, and ladle hot cranberry sauce into it, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Bubble the jar, wipe the rim, add a lid and band, and place in hot water in a water bath canner. Repeat until all the cranberry sauce is gone. Process jelly jars or pints in a water bath canner for 15 minutes.