Traditional Cranberry Sauce

Before there was canned cranberry sauce, there was this.

This traditional recipe traces its roots to Algonquin cooking, using just three ingredients that would have been found across the northeastern woodlands: cranberries, maple sugar, and birch sap.

No refined sugar. No orange juice or fancy spices. Just the natural sweetness of maple meeting the sharp tartness of cranberries, simmered together with birch sap until they break down into a thick, ruby-colored sauce.

The flavor is unlike any cranberry sauce you’ve had from a can or even a modern recipe. It’s earthier, more complex, with a deep maple richness that lingers.

Kitchen Tips

• If you can’t source birch sap, water with a small splash of maple syrup is the closest substitute
• Maple sugar is more concentrated than granulated sugar, so the sweetness builds gradually as it simmers. Taste before adding more
• The sauce thickens significantly as it cools, so pull it off the heat while it’s still a bit loose
• This makes 6 ½ cups, which is plenty. It keeps well in the fridge for up to two weeks