# Cranberry sauce, canned or homemade. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 17, 2012, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/641295 "2012-11-17T10:50:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2012, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/641295/1 "2012-11-17T10:50:28Z")
It looks like its time for our biennial cranberry sauce thread. This time expect you will have all seen the wisdom of canned cranberry sauce. In my case, the home made is identical. In fact I canned some two years ago, and I intend to open it on thanksgiving. There is no gelatin in cranberry sauce, as people always think. It is yelled in that shape with pectin. > **[Cranberry what?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=586406)** > > In the numerous threads talking about Thanksgiving dinner, we’re seeing the usual side chatter about cranberry jelly vs. cranberry relish. Let’s decide this once and for all! Yes, two options only: there’s no gray area here, folks, it’s one or the... > **[Cranberry sauce: Canned or Homemade](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=539291)** > > Of course it is a person that prefers the canned sauce that is posting this poll. People that prefer the homemade stuff can’t fathom that the canned is preferred. In my case, it isn’t just preferred, but it is a complete disappointment to have a... > **[How do you like your cranberry sauce?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=444579)** > > I was just in the store today shoping for thanksgiving. I am new to the area I am living in so I am not familiar with the local customs. The thing I really noticed, was that I could not find canned cranberry sauce anywhere. Now, I am pretty sure I... ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2012, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/641295/2 "2012-11-17T11:09:34Z")
I also find yelling at the cranberry sauce helps keep its shape. My observation is that people prefer the canned jelly. My wife loves real cranberry sauce and makes it every year. Nobody else takes any except to be polite or to give it a try. After trying nobody prefers it to the can. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2012, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/641295/3 "2012-11-17T11:49:44Z")
Homemade cranberry sauce takes what, 15 minutes? And you can use booze to make it ( I use Gran Marnier), so poll closed. Homemade wins. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2012, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/641295/4 "2012-11-17T11:52:48Z")
STAY!! STAAAYYYYY!! I SAID STAY, DAMMIT! Good sauce. Homemade for me. 1 bag cranberries, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, heat to bubbling, wait for them to start popping, remove from heat. Serve warm or cold. Couldn’t be easier and I’ve never had anyone turn it down or not like it. Sure, I can make a fancy relish with orange and cinnamon and rum, but that’s the stuff people look at sideways. I make that for myself, but do the good old plain sugared kind for the guests. Always gone. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2012, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/641295/5 "2012-11-17T11:55:38Z")
I like being able to slice it. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2012, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/641295/6 "2012-11-17T12:04:20Z")
> [@August\_West](#): > > Homemade cranberry sauce takes what, 15 minutes? > [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > STAY!! STAAAYYYYY!! I SAID STAY, DAMMIT! > > Good sauce. > > Homemade for me. I wish you guys could come for Thanksgiving dinner. It would make my wife very happy. ---
**Author:** ![Scribble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scribble/32/3317_2.png) [@Scribble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scribble)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2012, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/641295/7 "2012-11-17T12:53:05Z")
Homemade, no question! It’s not hard to make, either. It’s just cranberries, water, sugar, and some spices, boiled for a bit and then cooled. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2012, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/641295/8 "2012-11-17T12:55:08Z")
I make mine with orange zest and walnut pieces. Easy. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2012, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/641295/9 "2012-11-17T13:02:58Z")
It has to splort out of a can and keep its pretty lines. The fancy homemade kind with spices and orange zest and all that jazz is nice and I’ll usually try some if it’s around, but something feels completely off if I don’t have my cran-jello from a can. ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2012, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/641295/10 "2012-11-17T13:20:31Z")
Homemade, it’s painfully easy. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2012, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/641295/11 "2012-11-17T13:22:57Z")
Homemade, and, **WarmNPrickly** , you can make it so it can be sliced. It just takes a few more steps. After you do what **SeaDragonTattoo** describes, run the cooked cranberries through a food mill, discard the skins, and boil it again. Pour into a pan and chill. Voila! Homemade cranberry sauce that can be sliced (well, cut into squares). Granted, this takes it out of the realm of “easy-peasy-done-in-15-minutes,” but sliceable and homemade do not have to be mutually exclusive. However, if the ridges from the can are essential to you, this is a non-starter. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2012, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/641295/12 "2012-11-17T13:48:26Z")
I’ve made the canned stuff from scratch. In fact I posted the recipe in one of those earlier threads. It’s identical to the canned stuff, so I just put it in the same category as canned even though it is home made. Really, the only reason I see o do it is so that you can show up to someone’s house with your special homemade sauce and thy can’t get all snooty about it. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2012, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/641295/13 "2012-11-17T14:16:42Z")
Canned. It’s not that cranberry sauce is difficult to make, I just prefer the canned type (without whole berries in it). And I like that it sits in a bowl on the table still in the shape of the can. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2012, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/641295/14 "2012-11-17T14:22:48Z")
Homemade, definitely. The one bag cranberries, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water… Only I like to use orange juice and toss in a cut up orange & walnuts. SOOOOO good! I haven’t been able to FIND cranberries yet this year… been to 2 stores looking for them. _sigh_ ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2012, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/641295/15 "2012-11-17T14:34:26Z")
Sorry sometimes processed is better. Love the canned sauce. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2012, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/641295/16 "2012-11-17T14:39:30Z")
Two different side dishes, often conflated with each other due to the similarity in names, which cannot be compared. Homemade “cranberry sauce” can be tasty, but the Fidelius household is very traditional. Thanksgiving is a ceremonial meal, and as such needs the proper accoutrements, from the right biscuits through the mocking of the gravy and on to the Cool Whip for the pies. Derivations from the standards make us uncomfortable. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2012, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/641295/17 "2012-11-17T14:57:41Z")
What happened to the “Both” or “Neither” options. I like both and can truly understand why people don’t like it at all. ---
**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 17, 2012, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/641295/18 "2012-11-17T15:03:56Z")
> [@August\_West](#): > > Homemade cranberry sauce takes what, 15 minutes? > > And you can use booze to make it ( I use Gran Marnier), so poll closed. Homemade wins. My wife uses both orange juice and Gran Marnier, and sometimes pecans. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2012, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/641295/19 "2012-11-17T15:44:04Z")
> [@Antigen](#): > > It has to splort out of a can and keep its pretty lines. > > The fancy homemade kind with spices and orange zest and all that jazz is nice and I’ll usually try some if it’s around, but something feels completely off if I don’t have my cran-jello from a can. The stuff people make is nice sometimes, but it’s not cranberry sauce. It’s relish or something. Proper cranberry sauce has ridges. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2012, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/641295/20 "2012-11-17T15:50:01Z")
I prefer to make it. I just boil the cranberries with sugar and water. Tastes much better than the canned kind, which has an awful bitter note. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cranberry-sauce-canned-or-homemade/641295.md?page=2)