Before I decided to pose this query to my Facebook friends, I had no idea just how impassioned people could become about cranberries and the various forms that they may take in the way of Thanksgiving dishes.
What was meant to be a light-hearted, seasonally-inspired post elicited responses with every digital expression of emotion imaginable, from the gagging emoji to the one that is actually barfing, and all-caps comments ranging from “NO NEVER OMG EW,” to 11 red hearts in a row.
Some folks demanded more elaboration: Are we talking homemade or canned?
If homemade, should we distinguish between relished, stewed, or mixed into a congealed “salad” with a sugary cream cheese topping? Many were quick to point out that I needed to further subcategorize the canned varieties, differentiating between whole berry and the no-muss-no-fuss, straight-out-of-the-tin, slice ‘n’ serve jelly log. “Can-berry sauce,” if you will.
Although I intended for my question to be answered with simple yes’s and no’s, it took on a life of its own. Some friends shared personal anecdotes about their own Thanksgiving experiences with cranberry sauce.
One fellow mom wrote, “This is a touchy subject! I’m proud of my cranberry relish recipe: fresh cranberries that simmer and pop in the pot, orange zest, cinnamon, apple cider, and walnuts … I brought it to the festivities feeling like a Martha Stewart holiday meal champ. My family thought it tasted like potpourri so we opened a can of Ocean Spray instead.”
Apparently, it IS a touchy subject. Several people commented that their holiday tables boast both homemade and canned cranberry sauce because no one can agree on which is better.
A former coworker hilariously admitted that even though her holiday guests hardly ever touch the stuff, she feels like something is missing without the cranberry sauce. So, she always dumps a can into a bowl for the heck of it.
One friend commented that she would happily eat Ocean Spray cranberry jelly straight out of the can with a spoon every day of the year, while another declared that the only way she’d ever try cranberry sauce again was if it was breaded and deep-fried.
As for me, I’ll take my cranberries any way I can get them — frozen and plopped down into a flute of prosecco for a little extra razzle-dazzle, simmered low and slow with sugar, fresh orange zest and juice, and a cinnamon stick to make the perfect accompaniment for Thanksgiving Day roast turkey and spread over toasted white bread for day-after leftover turkey sandwiches.
I’ve never met a cranberry preparation that I didn’t like, but that’s just me. Both canned variations are just fine by me, and as a devout Southerner, I would never turn my nose up at cranberries that found their way into a Jell-O mold or a good ol’ dessert “salad.” My stepmom makes a cream cheese dip — featuring finely diced fresh cranberries and jalapeños — that is out of this world, and may be my favorite cranberry application of all time.
I’ve been meaning to put in a recipe request to my very clever friend who commented on my post and mentioned, along with her shared enthusiasm for homemade cranberry sauce, that her family likes to mix a little of theirs into Thanksgiving margaritas.
The mere thought of the cylindrical blob of red gelatin, complete with can lines, may make others squeamish, but for many others is a Thanksgiving staple. You might argue that putting fruit on the same fork as turkey is an affront to perfectly delicious gravy. Perhaps you love the nostalgia that is evoked with each bite of Ocean Spray jelly and turkey. You might delight in fancying up your gourmet, made-from-scratch, cranberry compote recipe with organic berries, fresh rosemary from your garden, and pure maple syrup. For your family, the sight of Great Aunt Ethel’s annual jiggly cranberry “salad” in the middle of the table might bring back happy memories of Thanksgivings past.
Whether you consider yourself a fan of the cran or team “ban the cran,” I hope your holiday is cran-tastic. I mean, fantastic.
Read CityView magazine’s “Giving” November 2024 e-edition here.
I enjoy reading although I was away from Fayetteville in my career for about 20 years, but very active in a lot of Fayetteville historical activities and Synder Baptist Church in the eighties and early nineties.