You can also freeze it and defrost it in the fridge side the day before.

I prefer to make my own and use the recipe on the package of fresh berries. We have the "whole berry" can stuff as backup, but it seems to have less whole berries every year. I also like the fresh berries for cranberry orange bread. We always made that for the holidays. My brother makes this recipe. I would like to try it out someday, but DH is a purist. Anyone ever made it? Any good? Cranberry Sauce Extraordinaire Ingredients 1 cup water 1 cup white sugar 1 (12 ounce) package fresh cranberries 1 orange, peeled and pureed 1 apple - peeled, cored and diced 1 pear - peeled, cored and diced 1 cup chopped dried mixed fruit 1 cup chopped pecans 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg Directions In a medium saucepan, boil water and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat to simmer, and stir in cranberries, pureed orange, apple, pear, dried fruit, pecans, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries burst. Remove from heat, and let cool to room temperature.

Would be best to post the specific recipe amounts you would use to be sure, but in general, reducing the sugar slightly is not a safety problem with acidic fruits. But that doesn't mean you can reduce it substantially much less eliminate it. So what do you mean by "a tiny bit"? You need to keep in mind that sugar does play a safety role. It not only dictates the texture, shelf life, but by binding up water in the recipe it reduces the alkaline pH that water adds. Your safest approach would be freezing it. The next best alternative would be to add additional fruit or lemon juice to off-set the sweetness. Dave

Reporting back--I decided to use a melon baller instead of cutting the jelly into cubes, then sprinkled the fruit with chia seeds and skipped the walnuts. The mint leaves were all frozen, so I used celery leaves: I used the leftovers of the cranberry jelly, mixed with pineapple juice, to glaze the ham. It was delicious! My impressions of canned cranberry jelly: It was very bland, compared to my homemade relish, but the tart and sweet fruit gave the salad enough punch. It was very refreshing with the baked ham. I wouldn't eat the jelly alone, but the texture is perfect if you want to spread it on a sandwich, which I don't. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Here is my Cranberry Relish Recipe For A Crowd, for lovemrmewey: 4 12oz packages fresh cranberries, rinsed 1 tsp minced candied ginger or 1/2 tsp ground ginger 3 cups sugar (I short each cup by a couple of tablespoons) 4 6oz packages of gelatin--any red or orange--I use red raspberry 2 20oz cans crushed pineapple, drained (reserve liquid) 4 11oz-15oz cans mandarin oranges, drained (reserve liquid) 2 tart apples, finely chopped zest of one orange, or 2Tbs OJ concentrate Make gelatin using the reserved liquid from the pineapple and mandarin oranges, with enough water added to complete the instructions. Chill until almost set--thick but not solid. While gelatin is chilling, cook 3 packages of the cranberries with 3 cups water and sugar. Cool. Grind the cooked cranberries with the remaining uncooked cranberries. I use a blender for this step. Cranberries can be cooked the night before and allowed to cool overnight in fridge. Mix the almost set gelatin, cranberry mixture, drained fruit, and orange zest. Chill until set. Keeps well for several days, and can be frozen. OT, here's a pic of my Christmas Eve cheese fish, requested by my grandson. Brother and SIL brought shrimp, so 10yr old GS had fun telling everyone 'Merry Fishmas'. Diabetic cherry Christmas pie for my father: