How To Prevent Runny Cranberry Sauce

Let's face it: Cranberries may not be the most tasty fruit on their own. Their incredibly tart flavor borders on bitterness and just going out to get a bag of cranberries does not sound like the most appealing proposal. But they do shine in certain moments. In those commercials where farmers are standing knee-deep in a cranberry bog for instance, fruit has never looked so luxurious. But to see where cranberries truly excel, you have to direct your attention to the Thanksgiving dinner table and take a look at the jammy deep dark red of the cranberry sauce.

Of course cranberry sauce comes in a can, but making them homemade can give you lots of versatility and a whole lot of flavor. There is, however, the issue of actually having to cook a sauce and, in particular, keep it from getting too runny. Nobody wants to be eating cranberry soup, so you need to make sure to cook for an adequate amount of time before setting aside for the sauce to cool. According to Daily Delish, cranberries contain a good bit of water, so it's common for people to add more water than is needed, leading to a watery sauce and some unhappy guests.

In addition to making sure to cook for a good while to let the water escape and the sauce reduce, it is possible that your runny sauce may be lacking in sugar. According to My Recipes, cranberries contain a type of fiber called pectin that they let out when crushed and cooked. The pectin released from the fruit bonds with the sugar and gives the sauce its gel-like consistency; If your sauce is lacking in sugar there may be nothing for the pectin to bond with, which will result in a runny sauce, per Eating Well.

If you find that your sauce is not quite to the sauce consistency that you want, try cooking for a little longer and try to release more water. The process can be slow sometimes, so you may have to be a bit more patient than when making other sauces. You can also look to add more sugar (the kids will thank you) to really make sure the sauce is melding how you would like.