I bought some unsweetened cranberry juice recently to use in my Cranberry Relish for Thanksgiving. Just out of curiosity, I took a little sip. Holy sour! My face puckered up and stayed like that for a couple minutes. I was expecting tart, but that was severe. I really love cranberry juice, but don’t love that it needs to be sweetened (usually with sugar) to be drinkable. Not that I advocate drinking a ton of juice, but it’s nice for a treat of the occasional bladder infection. I remember my mom always giving us cranberry juice as kids for that.
So I’ve got a ton of bags of cranberries in the freezer (okay, not a ton, but a lot) and finally realized that I could make my own juice. The amount of honey that you add can be adjusted, but for 8 cups of juice, anywhere between 3/4 – 1 cup of honey would be just right. After drinking this cranberry juice, I realized that as much as I liked the store-bought stuff, this stuff is a million times better. It actually tastes like cranberries, not like some sugar-loaded drink. There is still enough tartness with a perfect balance of sweet that is just perfect. The only problem is that it’s so good, I have to remember to only drink a little, and not let it replace my water.
And since Chrismas is coming, and you might be looking for a delicious festive drink that all members of the family can enjoy (children included), I’ve got a tasty drink recipe coming tomorrow.
Homemade Cranberry Juice
Store brand cranberry juice has added sugars that counteract the benefits of cranberries. This version uses beneficial honey and you control the sweetness.
Ingredients
- 8 cups Cranberries, fresh or frozen
- 1 cup Honey
- 8 cups Water
Instructions
- Add cranberries and water to a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. All the berries should have popped open and be a little mushy at by this point.
- Place a fine mesh strainer over a bowl and pour the berries into it. Discard the berries.
- Pour the honey into the bowl with the hot juice. Stir until the honey is dissolved completely.
- Allow the juice to cool about an hour so it's not too hot to handle. Pour the reserved juice into a ½ gallon container (preferably glasand store in the refrigerator.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 cupAmount Per Serving: Calories: 177Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 13mgCarbohydrates: 47gFiber: 4gSugar: 39gProtein: 1g
Nutrition is calculated by a third party and may not be 100% accurate
19 comments
Great recipe and so easy…I would have been making this year’s ago had I known. Thank you.
Was looking for an easy way to use up my cranberries, worked great!
How long can you keep this for? Can you freeze it? Thanks !
I just made this and it was so easy. I like how you can adjust the sweetness, and I love honey.
I did not throw out the berries though, I made a relish with a little cinnamon and honey. It is great when you want something sweet.
Hi, I am linking this recipe to my article on Iron Rich foods @ http://www.mylittlemoppet.com is that ok?
Can I process this in a water bath method – how long for pints? Thanks.
Don’t discard leftover berries.
Stir in honey to taste, use with peanut butter for a nice spread on toast etc.
Stop cooking the berries as soon as they pop and the juice won’t be as tart.
i am going to try this adding apples.THANKS
JUST MADE THIS ADDING I LARGE GRANNY AND I LARGE RED APPLE. VERY EASY. THIS IS M NEW FAV…
THANK YOU
AS FOR THE DRAINED CRANBERRIES AND APPLES, I REFRIGERATED TO EAT LATER. I THOUGHT IT TASTED GOOD.
I have made for Home Made Cranberry Juice for years, I use a Le Creuset pan with a lid to make my cranberry juice. If you use a non reactive pan you don’t get the metal taste. ALos leave the lid on, or you will have popped red juice parts all over you and your kitchen and it wont come out!
Also I squeeze the cranberries in a strainer (keep the heavier cranberry juice in glass container) and pop the skins in freezer in 1 c. increments (frozen zip lock- wait till berries are cool before you bag!)., they are perfect to add to homemade breads or muffins.
NO waste.
or you could toss them out to your farm animals for a treat, in the summer chickens love frozen suprises to pick at – in the hot summer day.
This is a great twist. I usually make it with oranges to help with the sweetness.
Thanks for sharing, this was very good.
Can u use stevia to sweeten cranberry juice?
Yes, that should be just fine. Just add a small amount and taste to be sure you’re not over-sweetening it.
Why couldn’t you just put it all in a Vitamix and not throw away the berries? That’s the way I’ve done it to avoid wasting the berries.
You should not put the honey into a hot liquid, this will destroy some of the natural benefits of honey.
I am so happy you shared this simple recipe…what a great reminder to make homemade juice…gosh I totally forgot how wonderful juice is. I love your pitcher!