Why it works: Sugar and cranberry work together. They rank in the top 25% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 374 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
Make the sauce
Boil ½–¾ cup sugar and ½ cup water for 5 minutes.
Add 1 cup cranberry juice and boil again.
Thicken with 1 teaspoon cornstarch.
Finish and flavor
Add a few drops lemon extract and 1 teaspoon melted butter.
(Optional) Use strawberry or rose extract instead of lemon.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 2 of 3 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 2 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Cranberry | 1 cup raw (100g) | 46 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Sugar + cranberrytop 25% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together374 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sugar
- Sweetens the sauce and balances the tartness of the cranberries.
- Cranberry juice
- Provides the main liquid and the tart cranberry flavor.
- Cornstarch (in the method)
- Thickens the boiling liquid into a sauce as its starch gelatinizes.
- Butter (in the method)
- Adds richness and a smooth, glossy mouthfeel.
The step that matters
Thicken with 1 teaspoon cornstarch. Cornstarch only thickens once the liquid is boiling and the starch granules swell and gelatinize. Adding it to a liquid that is not hot enough, or stopping the boil too early, leaves the sauce thin. Stir it in well so it does not clump.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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