I know I’m not the only person who has zero fond memories of squiggly-wiggly canned jellied cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving. It never was, nor will be, my jam. I mean, sauce… or saucy jam. Ah heck.
I don’t understand the picture. Why accent the jellied cranberries with fresh cranberries? You silly food photographers.
A number of years ago, I thought I was all cool (and more healthy) buying the fresh cranberries and making an upgraded kind of sauce than the ‘who put the ridges in my cranberry sauce’ variety. Surely, fresh-made would be more healthy, right?
Fresh! Premium! Superfruit!
From an added sugar perspective, it ain’t so… assuming you follow the recipe on the back of the bag. There is nearly the same amount of sugar per equal serving size in the fresh as compared to the canned version.
1/4 c canned = 21 grams of sugar
1/4 c fresh per standard recipe = 23.6 grams of sugar
Now granted, not all of the ‘sugar’ is from added sugar, as cranberries themselves do contain a touch of natural sugar (but it is closer to about 1 gram of natural sugar per 1/4 cup, not the 20+ grams as shown in the images above). The other difference you could dwell on is that the canned variety, at least in the image above, contains high fructose corn syrup and corn syrup for added sugars versus the freshly made, which typically incorporates cane sugar. Putting those difference aside though, it is still added sugar.
However, we do have some good news here, dear readers. First, the fresh cranberry sauce does contain a significant amount more phytochemicals than the canned sauce*. Think of phytochemicals as active compounds that have health-promoting properties (and different from minerals and vitamins). Cranberries feature some pretty neato phytochemicals such as proanthocyanidins, anthocyanins, terpenes, and flavonols. In this context, the fresh wins out over the canned crans even with the same sugar content.
The second bit of good news is that we can choose to make fresh cranberry sauce without the same amount of added sugar. Imagine that! You may have just had a Freak Out No Way response, but hear me now and listen later. Cranberries are a tasty, tart fruit and still can pair well without the same sweetness. Plus, maybe we have pumpkin pie later to enjoy?
A few ideas to consider if you’re up for the non-canned cranberry sauce yet want to try a lower added sugar option, but still keep some sweet and/or add some flavor zing:
simply reduce the amount of sugar called for in the traditional recipe by 1/4 to 1/2 cup
reduce the added sugar while adding in orange juice or another fruit juice (you can divide the water into 1/2 juice and 1/2 water or experiment with the ratio)
add in orange zest with or without orange juice
add in a cinnamon stick or fresh grated ginger
some folks like to use port, brandy, or red wine instead of juice
you can experiment with using honey or maple syrup as you reduce table sugar, but remember that it is still added sugar
I hope you feel inclined to experiment and enjoy thinking a tad outside the traditional cranberry can. You know I’d love to hear what you try, so give me a tag and a glimpse of your creation over on the Insta (@nutritionmechanic) or FB (@mechanicdina).
Give fresh cran a chance.
Wishing you well,
And giving thanks for your being here,
Dina
*Reference: Blumberg, J. B., Camesano, T. A., Cassidy, A., Kris-Etherton, P., Howell, A., Manach, C. et al. (2013). Cranberries and their bioactive constituents in human health. Adv Nutr, 4(6), 618-632.