Cranberry sauce is a staple in festive meals for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other special occasions. But let's be honest — while it may be a holiday essential, very rarely is it someone's favorite part of their meal, even if it is homemade. Cranberries on their own have a distinctly sour flavor, which carries over into the sauce, even if sugar is added to the recipe. This tartness may stand out against a richer meal with turkey and mashed potatoes, but it also means the condiment often gets pushed to the side of the plate.
If you want to give your cranberry sauce a major upgrade, try adding blueberries to it.
You'll still get the tartness cranberries are known for, as their taste is so distinct that it will still shine with the new ingredient. But blueberries will give your final product much more sweetness, which will help temper the lip-puckering quality of the cranberries, as well as add a more complex fruity flavor and a juicy texture. As a result, you may be able to add less sugar to your recipe. And all in all, you'll end up with a yummy condiment that you can use beyond your next holiday meal.
The beauty of blueberries — beyond their sweetness and juiciness — is that they are incredibly versatile, so you can add them to practically any cranberry sauce you typically make. They'll work in a , where their sweetness will help balance out chicken stock and herbs, and may even allow you to scale back on the included brown sugar. They'll also thrive in a , where they can be used to counteract zippy ingredients like orange zest and fresh ginger; and you can even add them to a that doubles down on sour ingredients like lemon, blood orange, and grapefruit.
Adding blueberries to your recipe couldn't be easier, no matter which flavors you're going with.
Dump them into the pot alongside your cranberries and other ingredients, and let everything come to a boil together. Because blueberries contain pectin, heating them with an acid (like cranberries) and a little sugar helps them morph into a jammy consistency. So after your sauce has simmered for about 10 minutes, the fruits should thicken and the cranberries should break down. If you want to branch out beyond Thanksgiving dinner, feel free to throw spoonfuls of your sauce on oatmeal bowls, yogurt bowls, waffles, and pancakes, where you can reap the benefits of their sweet and sour flavors.
