Cranberry sauce is better when you prefer and need a classic, sweet and smooth condiment or want to enjoy the texture of jellied cranberry canned sauce.
Although cranberry relish is better if you love and need bright, tart fresh flavors a quick and easy to make ahead option, which cuts through rich holiday foods.
Whether cranberry sauce is better than cranberry relish will depend on your use of them and your personal preference.
Cranberry sauce is cooked and thickened and cranberry relish is raw, pulsed in a food processor with ingredients, including orange and offers a zesty, chunky contrast to rich meats.
Cranberry relish is made by taking raw cranberries and pulsing the raw cranberries in a food processor, along with an orange with the orange peel still on and sometimes also using apples and sugar and pulsed in the food processor until the cranberries are chopped coarsely, which creates a fresh and tangy, no cook condiment, which is then chilled to allow the flavors to meld, which differs from cooked cranberry sauce.
To make the cranberry relish you combine the fresh cranberries, orange wedges with the peel and sugar in a food processor and simply pulse it until they are finely minced, then you refrigerate it to serve.
The difference between cranberry sauce and cranberry relish is cranberry relish is often raw and made by blending fresh cranberries, often with sugar in a food processor for a brighter and tarter and chunkier taste.
And cranberry sauce is cooked, which results in a smoother and sweeter, jam like consistency.
Cranberry sauce also flavors meld during cooking.
And cranberry relish offers a fresh and vibrant burst of flavor that cuts through the rich dishes.
To make cranberry relish, the fresh cranberries, often with oranges, with peel and all and sweetener, are pulsed in a food processor.
The texture of the cranberry relish is chunky, fresh and vibrant and the flavor of cranberry relish is bright, tart, citrusy and refreshing.
Cranberry sauce is made by simmering cranberries, sugar and water or juice until the cranberries burst and the mixture gets thicker.
The texture of cranberry sauce is smooth, gelatinous or even jam like, especially for canned cranberry sauce.
The flavor of cranberry sauce is sweet, cooked down and blended flavors.
Basically cranberry sauce is cooked sauce that is softer and sweeter.
And cranberry relish is raw and is brighter, tarter and chunkier.
Common mistakes when making cranberry sauce are overcooking the cranberry sauce, which results in bitterness or gloopy texture, undercooking the cranberry sauce, which makes the cranberry sauce too runny, adding too much liquid and using too little sugar, which affects the thickening of the cranberry sauce.
Other common mistakes when making cranberry sauce are not allowing the cranberry sauce to cool properly, as the pectin requires time to gel and thicken the cranberry sauce naturally as it cools down.
Cooking the cranberry sauce too long can turn the cranberries bitter or even create a rubbery paste, like texture, so stop cooking the cranberry sauce when most of the cranberries pop and the cranberry sauce thickens.
Not cooking the cranberry sauce long enough prevents the release of pectin, which results in runny sauce, so ensure that the cranberry sauce boils to activate the thickener.
Cranberry sauce is a tart, sweet condiment that is made from cranberries and is also commonly used at Thanksgiving as cranberry sauce complements the rich flavor of turkey, stuffing and other savory dishes perfectly.
Cranberry sauce is often served from a can, although cranberry sauce is also sometimes served homemade.