Cranberry Sauce
There are few foods more all-American than cranberry sauce. Cranberries are native to the United States, and are one of only three Native American fruits that are commercially cultivated on a large scale. (The other two are blueberries and Concord grapes.) Their distinctive tart flavor has made them a huge national favorite.
And it's that tartness that works in our favor. Ever tasted a fresh, unsweetened cranberry? Little suckers are sour! Which means two things: One, that nearly all commercial cranberry products are loaded with sugar, including the iconic cranberry sauce on our Thanksgiving tables. And two, that if we make our own cranberry sauce, we can count on it being quite low carb.
After all, a half-cup of fresh, raw cranberries has just 6 grams of carbohydrate, 2 of which are fiber, for a usable carb count of 4 grams. They're not an impressive source of vitamins -- 11% of your daily C is the most notable -- but they're a terrific source of antioxidants called proanthocyanidins. This is the compound in cranberries that helps prevent urinary tract infections, by keeping germs from adhering to bladder walls. Cranberries also appear to have further anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties.
The trick, of course, lies in not adding sugar! Fortunately, making your own whole-berry cranberry sauce couldn't be a whole lot easier. Here's how:
In a big, non-reactive saucepan, combine:
1 cup water
1 cup Splenda granular (or, if you prefer, erythritol)
12 ounce bag fresh cranberries
Bring to a simmer, and cook till the cranberries pop. That's it! Put it in a jar or snap-top container and refrigerate for at least a day before serving.
If you like, you can add 1/2 teaspoon unflavored gelatin powder to this mixture, to thicken it up a bit, but it's great just like this.
Makes 2 cups, or 16 servings of two tablespoons each, with: 16 Calories; trace Fat ; trace Protein; 4g Carbohydrate. The same sized serving of canned cranberry sauce has 52 calories, with 13 grams of of carbohydrate -- more than three times as much!
One more thought: Cranberries are one of the few fruits that are still strictly seasonal, only available for a few months in the autumn. But they freeze beautifully! If you love cranberry sauce, pick up a few extra bags and toss them in the freezer, so you can have homemade cranberry sauce all year long.
- Dana's blog
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This is just what I needed -
This is just what I needed - tonight I am making your Cranberry Burgers from the 15 Minute Low Carb Recipes book (which I found recently at Goodwill and snatched up!) and once I mixed up the burgers, I wondered what to do with the rest of the bag of cranberries. Long ago I used to make a yummy cranberry relish - the recipe called for a cup of sugar, but also orange juice, orange zest, and fresh grated ginger. It was so delicious and tart and addictive I would just eat it straight. I may try adding some ginger to this relish, maybe a spoonful of orange juice concentrate (since I don't have any oranges at the moment) and serve it alongside the burgers.
Cranberries, again!
theakm
It goes without saying that a person needs to actually like the taste of them for this to work(?). As we mature, our tastes change, but some folks just aren't 'into' unsweetened foods...I wasn't, either, till I started 'eating' low carb. I guess my taste buds 'grew up' or something like that. I find I don't need near as much Splenda as I used to, even, which is good, cuz it is still a form of sugar and can be overdone, just as we can indulge in too much of anything sweet or salty, for that matter. I'm curious, did you mean your mom liked the idea, now, or when you were a kid and made you try it, then? Just wondering. My kids have never liked the taste of cranberries, not just the tartness of them (something else for a person to get used to, I'm sure!). Just means there's more for me!...ha, ha! Always interested in other folks' opinions, so 'opine' away, I say!
Yeah it is the taste
Yes it is the taste that is the key. I kind of like SOME Asian candy. There is a lot of things that look and are used like candy by the Asians but that have little or no sweetening. Instead they have some specific flavor. I have found that I like many of them more than "American" mostly sugar candy. But there are others that are some of the most horrible stuff I have ever tasted. If you care going to do without the sugar in the taste of the candy, you had better like the base taste. The same thing applies to cranberries.
Cranberries...yummy!
theakm
Try eating some plain, raw, cranberries before you eat anything else in the am...they're great and you won't need as much 'sweet stuff' in a day to satisfy your sweet tooth, either! My little dog even likes them raw, though I don't give her many! Just a note...theakm
tried it unfortuately many times
Actually my mom decided that this was a great idea and as a kid got stuck with this several times. At least in a relish or the like there is something trying to hide the horrible taste.
Cranberry Sauce
This is more like the recipe I use when I make Cranberry Relish.
Pat
I don't get it
Dana , I'm confused here . You said bring to a simmer till the cranberries pop. Then put them in a snap top jar but they are still whole cranberries not sauce . I've never made Cranberry Sauce before is the mixture supposed to be lumpy or saucey like what we can buy in the can at the store . Are we supposed to mash them after they simmer ? I am thinking of making some since I did not know they contained proanthocyanidins . Cindy
Is it like canned?
There are two kinds of canned cranberry sauce -- the cranberry jelly, which is what you're talking about, and whole-berry cranberry sauce, which is what I grew up with, and what this recipe makes.
I don't have a recipe for low carb cranberry jelly, though I could give it a shot. The problem is that sugar is involved in the jelling reaction of pectin, so I don't know if it will work or not. Still, it would be an experiment worth trying.
I do urge you to try the whole-berry cranberry sauce. It's yummy!
Jellied cranberry sauce
You can make a very good low carb jellied cranberry sauce two ways. For either, you must first get rid of the seeds and skins - by putting the cooked berries through a food mill, or by pressing the cooked (and cooled!) berries through a sieve.
Once you have the deseeded pulp, you can use a pectin (or whatever it really is) designed for canning sugar free fruits, or you can add one package of unflavored gelatin - for about two cups of berry pulp. If you can find it, sugar free cranberry flavored gelatin can be used, but you would probably want to reduce the sugar substitute in the original recipe a bit. Beware - the pectin for sugar free fruit preserves is intended for a LOT of preserves, so read the instructions to get the right amount. I did this one Thanksgiving and no one could tell the difference, except my cranberry sauce didn't have the ridges you get from the canned stuff.
I dont get it
Okay Dana thanks , Im going to try it with your recipe , I like it.
Why on why
Why o why couldn't this kind of distinction (being "truly" American) go to something like apples. I have yet to find a way to actually make cranberries taste edible.
Truly American
'Cause apples ain't truly American, that's why. They were brought here by settlers. Surely you've heard of Johnny Appleseed?
Maybe you could make some paw paw sauce or blueberry sauce or persimmon sauce. Those are American fruits.
Yeah I know
I believe that Apples came from Egypt area.
Of course Johnny Appleseed didn't get them there. He raised them once they got here. He also didn't travel around nearly as much as he kind of has the reputation for. He mainly started several apple orchards around a general area, and then encouraged people to plant trees they got from him other places. But yes he deserves a lot of the credit for the fact that apple trees now grow about everywhere in this country.