Cranberry & Port Sauce, the perfect accompaniment to your Christmas turkey and unbelievably simple to make.
I’m going to admit that in the past I’ve usually bought my cranberry sauce to serve alongside my Christmas turkey, but this year I decided that it was high time I got on and made my own.
I’m in charge of dinner this Christmas and I’m planning to make it as low effort as possible whilst still trying to make quite a few things from scratch. I love cooking and could happily while away a few hours in the kitchen cooking a roast, but that’s not what I’m planning on doing on the big day. I want to be in the lounge with my family and a glass of something delicious, opening presents and listening to cheesy Christmas music 🙂 .
The great thing about this cranberry and port sauce is that it can be prepared a few days in advance and stored in the fridge ready to get out and pop onto the table, so no effort on Christmas day. Another great thing is that it’s incredibly simple to make, chuck all of the ingredients into a pan, bring them to the boil and simmer for about 20 minutes – all that’s needed is the occasional stir. The last great thing about it is that it’s yummy, the port adds a lovely rich flavour which I think goes perfectly with the sharpness of the cranberries.
By luck, on the day I was planning to photograph this recipe a preserving starter kit turned up on my doorstep, a little early Christmas present from Ball Preserving. Their jars are really pretty (can you see the lovely diamond pattern on them in the pictures), which means that you can pop them straight out onto your Christmas dinner table without worrying about decanting them into another dish.
There’s a bit more to the preserving kit than just the pretty jars though, it makes filling and sterilising jars easy and safe (as there’s no need to be handling hot jars) and contains all of the equipment you need. There’s full instructions included but essentially you fill the jars with your hot filling, pop them into the specially designed basket and then boil them to sterilise them, ready to store.
I didn’t need to use the full preserving kit for this cranberry sauce as I only make small batches that will be used up quickly, but I’m really looking forward to trying out some of the many recipes on the Ball website as I love homemade jams and chutneys.
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Cranberry & Port Sauce
INGREDIENTS
- 300 g cranberries - fresh or frozen
- 75 g dark brown sugar
- 180 ml ruby port
- Zest of 1 orange - finely grated
INSTRUCTIONS
- Put all of the ingredients into a saucepan (300g cranberries, 75g dark brown sugar, 180ml ruby port, zest of 1 orange). Bring to the boil and then turn the heat down to a simmer for about 20 minutes until the liquid has reduced to a syrupy consistency. Stir occasionally.
- Serve or store in jars in the fridge for a few days.
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.
Free From/Suitable For…
- Suitable for Vegetarians & Vegans
- Gluten-Free
- Dairy-Free
- Egg-Free
- Corn-Free
- Nut-Free
- Soy-Free
The ingredients for this recipe are easily available free from all these allergens. However, please ensure you double-check allergen information for all ingredients.
Ruth Harwood says
I think I’d try my hand at lemon curd or strawberry jam, our two faves xx
sharon mead says
this time of year I would make a christmas chutney
Graham Ross says
I would like to make Tomato chutney and some Strawberry jam
Iris W says
I think I would make this recipe first, the cranberry and port sauce sounds delicious
Anthea Holloway says
I would make some spicy medlar chutney first as this is the season for medlars to ripen on the trees, followed by Seville orange marmalade.
Mandy says
Looks like a gorgeous recipe Charlotte – love the idea of cranberry sauce with port. And the jars are so pretty. Thanks for linking up with #CookBlogShare
Spencer Broadley says
Some kind of chutney – difficult to decide what sort though
Harline Parkin says
Chunky marmalade
carol clark says
some plum jelly
Lorraine Tinsley says
My mum grows strawberries and on her allotment there are loads of blackberries so we would probably make some yummy jam
kelly wheelhouse says
I would make blueberry jam first!
Bill says
Used to make jam with mum as a child so would love to do that again – blackberry we used to make
Rebecca Matthews says
Blackberry Jam as we picked loads this year but they are still sitting in my freezer
Sharon Smith says
I’m making cranberry and chilli jam as presents tomorrow so maybe more of that or some winter fruit chutney! The possibilities would be endless.
Angie McDonald says
I’d start by attempting to make sure Strawberry jam!
Dawn Brodribb says
I’d make gooseberry jam as that is my favourite!
amelia avossa says
Definitely Cherry jam! i love cherry anything! Enormous luck everyone!!!
Judith Mitchell says
When I was growing up, my family had a market garden and one of the main crops was tomatoes. I’ve had green tomato jam (yum!) but I’ve never tried tomato chutney. Because of that, I’d love to make Ball’s recipe for Sweet Yellow Tomato Chutney – although, if it was to be my first recipe made using Ball’s Preserving Kit, I’d have a long wait until using it as they won’t be in season for a while!!
amy pest says
cranberries
Anni Large says
I’d make some raspberry jam. My eldest is really into jam at the moment so I think it would be awesome for us to make some together. 🙂