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Quick Cranberry Orange Sauce with Fresh Ginger

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This quick cranberry orange sauce with fresh ginger comes together in about 15 minutes flat. It’s bright, zingy, and has a little kick from the ginger that makes people go back for seconds.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 12 ounces (340 grams) fresh or frozen cranberries
  • 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup (120 ml) fresh orange juice
  • 1 tablespoon orange zest
  • 1 tablespoon (about 15 grams) fresh ginger, grated
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) water
  • Pinch of salt

Instructions

  1. Zest and juice the orange first: Wash your orange well under warm water. Use a microplane to grate off the orange part of the peel, rotating the orange as you go. Stop when you start seeing white pith. Set the zest aside in a small bowl. Cut the orange in half and juice it into a measuring cup. You need 1/2 cup of juice. If one orange doesn’t give you enough, grab a second one.
  2. Peel and grate the ginger: Take a piece of fresh ginger about the size of your thumb. Use the edge of a spoon to scrape off the brown skin. Grate the peeled ginger on your microplane or fine grater. You should end up with about 1 tablespoon of grated ginger, including the juices that come out. Don’t squeeze those out — they’re full of flavor.
  3. Combine everything in the saucepan: Add the fresh cranberries, sugar, fresh orange juice, water, and that pinch of salt to your saucepan. Don’t add the orange zest or grated ginger yet — they go in later so their flavors stay bright and fresh.
  4. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat: Stir everything together and let it come to a boil. You’ll hear the cranberries start to pop. Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t boil over. If it looks like it’s getting too active, turn the heat down a notch.
  5. Reduce heat and simmer: Once the mixture is boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low so it’s at a gentle simmer. Stir occasionally. After about 5 minutes, most of the berries will have burst. After 8 to 10 minutes, the sauce should be thickened and most of the liquid should be syrupy. If you like a chunkier sauce, stop earlier. If you want it smoother, let it go a few more minutes and use the back of your spoon to mash some of the berries against the side of the pot.
  6. Stir in the orange zest and fresh ginger: Take the pot off the heat. Stir in the orange zest and grated ginger. This is important — adding them at the end keeps their flavors bright and fresh instead of cooking them into submission. The ginger will have a slight kick that mellows as the sauce cools.
  7. Cool and serve: Let the sauce cool in the pot for about 5 minutes before transferring it to a serving bowl. It will continue to thicken as it cools. The sauce is delicious warm, at room temperature, or cold.

Notes

Don’t rush the simmer. Use a splatter guard if you have one. Taste and adjust sweetness before adding the ginger. Grate ginger on a plate, not over the pot. Make it ahead of time for better flavor. Don’t skip the salt.

Nutrition

Keywords: cranberry sauce, orange sauce, fresh ginger, quick, easy, 15-minute, homemade, Thanksgiving, weeknight side

Find it online: https://sparklespoon.com/quick-cranberry-orange-sauce-with-fresh-ginger-easy-15-minute-side/