# Cranberry sauce: Canned or Homemade **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 9, 2009, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/516952 "2009-11-09T21:57:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/516952/41 "2009-11-10T17:23:34Z")
I buried Paul. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/516952/42 "2009-11-10T17:56:19Z")
> [@randwill](#): > > I want the canned. And I want the bottom slice with the ridges on it. > > Sliced is how it was always served in my family, but wouldn’t stirring it up in a bowl after you plop it out of the can be the proper way to serve it? No, you slice it in both directions, leaving nice big cubes folks can individually slice at their discretion. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/516952/43 "2009-11-10T17:58:29Z")
> [@Cowgirl\_Jules](#): > > I’ve never been a big fan of cranberry sauce in either form. Is it that big of a deal? Am I comitting serious crimes to humanity by leaving it out? If you are making a traditionalish T-giving dinner, some form of cranberries is de rigueur. It’s the nice tart sweet complement to the rich savory elements. ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/516952/44 "2009-11-10T18:41:17Z")
> [@Indyellen](#): > > I don’t eat cranberry sauce at all, but if I buy it, it MUST come out of the can. It’s not Thanksgiving without the cylinder with the can ridges… No doubt. There’s just something so middle-class comforting about it. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/516952/45 "2009-11-10T19:05:44Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > The only acceptable kind is the kind with the berries still in it. Homemade is best, but canned sauce with the berries still in it is still edible. The jellied kind, on the other hand, is for people who have just gotten past the Gerber’s strained peas phase. Pretty much my view on the matter. I can understand the comfort food/memories-of-yesteryear aspect of jellied cranberry sauce. We all have foods like that, whether they be canned jellied cranberries or potato-flake mashed potatoes or Campbell’s canned mushroom soup and green beans casserole, that are “inferior” to a homemade product, yet still comforting and, thus, delicious for the associations we have with these prepared foods. I personally don’t have such associations with cranberry sauce, so I prefer the homemade type that’s basically sugar and cranberries (skin on) mashed up, but I understand the appeal of the jellied kind. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/516952/46 "2009-11-10T19:22:13Z")
I much prefer home-made, but since I am always a guest for turkey dinners, I usually get canned. ☹ ETA: Not looking gift turkey dinners in the mouth, though. I just wish sometimes that they would let me bring homemade sauce, but they won’t. ☹ ☹ ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/516952/47 "2009-11-10T19:48:52Z")
I don’t have any problem with people bringing homemade cranberry sauce along. It just needs to be served with canned also. I’ve even made my own cranberry sauce. The stuff is cheap enough, there is no reason not to offer it along with the canned version. I guess being snooty is a reason. ---
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/516952/48 "2009-11-10T20:12:22Z")
Canned for me. Homemade is yucky. I don’t actually like cranberries, so the only appeal for me is having that perfect red circle on my plate. That’s an essential part of Thanksgiving. I do not especially care for Thanksgiving with the in-laws, as MIL uses fancy-schmancy recipes. No canned cranberry sauce, no green bean casserole, not even mashed potatoes. Boo. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/516952/49 "2009-11-10T20:53:24Z")
OH!! This reminds me of my latest pet peeve. They now put canned cranberry sauce in cans with rounded edges on the bottom (so they fit better I guess :rolleyes: ) and I can’t get purchase on them to make a small opening to release the vacuum seal. I end up pounding a hole in the bottom with the triangular pointy thing I should be using to pry a nice hole. GRRR! It’s bad enough you can no longer make a biscuit form from tuna cans, now the heavenly goodness of c. sauce requires a power tool. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/516952/50 "2009-11-10T21:38:27Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > OH!! This reminds me of my latest pet peeve. They now put canned cranberry sauce in cans with rounded edges on the bottom (so they fit better I guess :rolleyes: ) and I can’t get purchase on them to make a small opening to release the vacuum seal. I end up pounding a hole in the bottom with the triangular pointy thing I should be using to pry a nice hole. GRRR! > > It’s bad enough you can no longer make a biscuit form from tuna cans, now the heavenly goodness of c. sauce requires a power tool. Place can on top. Place point of lockback knife on bottom. Tap butt of knife gently with a hammer. _Et voila_! ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/516952/51 "2009-11-10T21:49:29Z")
> [@BetsQ](#): > > I do not especially care for Thanksgiving with the in-laws, as MIL uses fancy-schmancy recipes. No canned cranberry sauce, no green bean casserole, not even mashed potatoes. Boo. Something tells me the jello mold is right out, isn’t it. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/516952/52 "2009-11-10T22:13:14Z")
No option for neither? My vote would have been neither. ---
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/516952/53 "2009-11-11T00:57:50Z")
> [@chique](#): > > Something tells me the jello mold is right out, isn’t it. Not a single thing with jello or marshmallows on the table. It’s a travesty. ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/516952/54 "2009-11-11T01:10:46Z")
Your in-laws are heathens. ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/516952/55 "2009-11-11T01:11:42Z")
What, there isn’t an option for both?? As far as eating goes, I prefer the canned stuff because of the way I can mush it with my tongue in my mouth. I do like making my mom’s recipe, though, because I like the way fresh cranberries sound when they’re being poured into something (it’s kind of a “plonk” sound). A layer of cranberries, about a cup of sugar, cinnamon, repeat, bake. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/516952/56 "2009-11-11T01:28:41Z")
Sooo, uh, nobody else has a grandma who used the canned to _make sauce_ by heating it up? We spooned it out of a gravy boat, onto the turkey, and the turkey gravy went on the mashed potatoes. I also spooned it over the candied yams as a kid. My nuclear family started using fresh cranberries and homemade recipe when my great aunt who made it all the time died and we took up the recipe in her honor. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/516952/57 "2009-11-11T14:41:58Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Place can on top. Place point of lockback knife on bottom. Tap butt of knife gently with a hammer. _Et voila_! Hmmm…yep, worth the trouble! Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![jellyblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@jellyblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jellyblue)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/516952/58 "2009-11-13T09:33:31Z")
I like both. The good thing about the homemade kind is that you can mix it with a little syrup and have it, warm, on waffles the next morning - ::dies::. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/516952/59 "2009-11-14T01:50:59Z")
Homemade, if no added flavorings are added, just cranberries and sugar. Canned is great, too, whole berries and plain. But absolutely NO relish made of chopped berries and oranges and whatever. Disgusting. For even more wonderfulness, make cranberry butter. Beat a stick or two of butter with whole berry cranberry sauce (to taste). Add some honey to taste. It will be a beautiful pink color and taste absolutely delicious. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/516952/60 "2009-11-14T21:14:42Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > But absolutely NO relish made of chopped berries and oranges and whatever. Disgusting. I can get behind this. Oranges, walnuts, horseradish, and whatever fancy pants ingredients you add, make a mockery of cranberry sauce. Of course, I don’t mind so long as plain cranberry sauce is available. Preferably canned. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/516952.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/516952.md?page=4)