Bring something new to the Thanksgiving table by making one of these alternatives to cranberry sauce.
No cranberries, no problem! For those looking for an alternative to cranberry sauce to serve with turkey, there are plenty of condiments to make instead. Consider a chutney with fresh and dried fruit, a tangy citrus marmalade, and even bacon-onion "jam." The recipes we've gathered are sweet and tart or savory and aromatic, they include the spices, nuts, and deep flavors we associate with autumn and winter, so you won't miss the cranberries one bit.
And if there will be one person at the table who always has to have the cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving, then fine—it's easy to make a batch for them too. Or if you don't mind cranberries but aren't a fan of the usual sauce, we've included a couple of decidedly different cranberry condiments to try.
A citrus marmalade can be eaten with sweet or savory food. The slices of fruit of tart fruit have just enough bitterness in their peel to balance the sweetness.
Fruit butter is an old-fashioned term for a puree of fruit that cooks for so long it becomes spreadable. It's magical, especially when made with quince, a fall fruit with an unparalleled fragrance.
The longer quince is cooked, the rosier it becomes in color. Here it’s made into a syrup which is cooked for so long that the fruit’s natural pectin, contained in skin and seeds, helps it to set.
This is a luscious sauce of softened plums simply cooked with balsamic vinegar and garlic. You can use any type of ripe plums but Italian prune plums are the best for this easy sauce.
A recipe like this will fall into your annual rotation: it’s pretty and bright, with barely-cooked pears and warm spices. Honey adds a light sweetness, and walnuts add crunch.
Raw and bright, fresh pomegranate tossed with lemon and herbs is a most worthy partner to turkey and a superb alternative to a no-cook, chopped cranberry and orange relish.
If fresh apricots are available in your local market, make a pot of this golden sauce. Can it or keep it in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve it for Thanksgiving, or enjoy it with meats and cheeses.
This variation on a cranberry sauce is decidedly different. It's deeply flavored with pomegranate molasses and brown sugar. Stirring in fresh pomegranate arils at the last minute, adds crunch and fresh tartness.
Red currant jam or jelly was traditionally served with game and makes a spectacular partner for turkey. Red currants are naturally quite sour but are sweetened just right in this recipe from Christine Ferber, a legendary jam and jelly maker.
It's a jelly not a sauce! And, it's an elegant variation on the typical cranberry sauce with the cranberry flavor tempered by fresh ginger. Another bonus, it's very simple to make.
There's homemade cranberry ketchup, or cherry ketchup, tangy and sweet. Or you could top your turkey with a different kind of staple sauce altogether: simple, classic pesto. The Dining staff is taking questions on Thanksgiving cooking, drinking, entertaining, or any other holiday hurdles.
Turkey. So the Christmas tradition of turkey with cranberry sauce has been borrowed from the North American thanksgiving combination of turkeys and cranberries.
There's not a direct substitute for fresh cranberries, but you could make a relish or chutney using a combination of fresh cherries and pomegranates, as well as a small amount of dried cranberries or dried figs. The flavor will be more sweet than tart, but it serves the same purpose.
Turkey is often dry, salty, and bland, which makes it the perfect partner for something sweet and moist. Cranberries are not overly sweet. Their tartness pairs well with the more bland-tasting turkey. Our palates would be bored by singular tastes.
Mayonnaise is favored by the majority, however. (Both Hellmann's and Duke's have adamant fan bases.) Mayo is a simple and apt pairing when the sandwich consists of richly flavored dark meat.
Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Riesling are excellent choices to accompany your turkey dinner. Sauvignon Blanc is a light and citrusy wine that compliments turkey well, as it doesn't overpower the dish's flavor. Chardonnay is a more robust white wine featuring notes of vanilla and butter.
Just as you might add condiments like soy sauce, miso paste, Worcestershire sauce, or even a splash of sherry or cider vinegar to your favorite gravy recipe, incorporate them into store-bought gravy for a more complex flavor. Start by adding just a little at a time, and continue until you reach a flavor you enjoy.
There's almost nothing a few snips of fresh herbs won't make better. When you're heating up the gravy, add in a variety of your favorite herbs—think Thanksgiving classics like rosemary, thyme, parsley, or sage—and let the gravy extract some of the flavor while it heats. Strain the herbs from the gravy before serving.
Consider a chutney with fresh and dried fruit, a tangy citrus marmalade, and even bacon-onion "jam." The recipes we've gathered are sweet and tart or savory and aromatic, they include the spices, nuts, and deep flavors we associate with autumn and winter, so you won't miss the cranberries one bit.
Quince, strawberries, and citrus fruits are produced and sold everywhere during the entire winter. Quince is rather tart and aromatic and is extremely tasty! In fact, Türkiye exports quince to many countries across the world.
Cranberry sauce or cranberry jam is a sauce or relish made out of cranberries, commonly served as a condiment or a side dish with Thanksgiving dinner in North America and Christmas dinner in the United Kingdom and Canada.
Calling this dish a “sauce” is a bit of a misnomer, as cranberry sauce is actually a simple fruit jam. Cranberries are naturally high in pectin (a naturally occuring gel). When cranberries are cooked with sugar and acid (such as orange or lemon juice), the pectin is released and gels the fruit.
It is the whole-berry version that is “cranberry sauce.” The jellied cylinder qualifies as sauce only by relation, like a legacy applicant at Yale. Yet it is beloved — not as a sauce, exactly, but as a food group of its own.
Introduction: My name is Arline Emard IV, I am a cheerful, gorgeous, colorful, joyous, excited, super, inquisitive person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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