# How do you like your cranberry sauce? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 18, 2007, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-your-cranberry-sauce/426892 "2007-11-18T03:02:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Sir\_Dirx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b77776/32.png) [@Sir\_Dirx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Dirx)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2007, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-your-cranberry-sauce/426892/41 "2007-11-18T16:15:07Z")
Our family always has both kinds: the canned jelly and the homemade sauce. My brother refuses to touch the latter; I forget who in my family can’t stand the former. As I always have two helpings of just about everything available, I end up using both. Sauce in Round One, and then the jelly in Round Two. I must admit, I prefer the jelly, but both are good. ---
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2007, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-your-cranberry-sauce/426892/42 "2007-11-18T16:53:30Z")
Canned sauces are foul and too sweet. This is my beef with most processed foods out of a can, though-I feel like I can sense the sugar sticking to my teeth. I’ve been making Epicuriou’s Triple Cranberry Sauce for 10 years now and it blows all the canned varieties out of the water-we make tons and never have any leftovers. I would go as far as to say that my family and I, who generally don’t like food that can be described as originating in the West, enjoy the damn sauce the most! Best of all? It gels naturally, for people who like that jellied texture. I think it might be a chemical in the cranberry skins. ---
**Author:** ![Annie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@Annie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2007, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-your-cranberry-sauce/426892/43 "2007-11-18T18:25:28Z")
Straight from the back of the Ocean Spray berry bag: 1 cup sugar 1 cup water 1 12-ounce package Ocean Spray® Fresh or Frozen Cranberries DIRECTIONS: Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil; add cranberries, return to boil. Reduce heat and boil gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cover and cool completely at room temperature. Refrigerate until serving time. Makes 2 1/4 cups. I squish the berries with a potato masher to get better consistency myself. And use a non stick saucepan. That stuff sticks when it gets hard. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2007, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-your-cranberry-sauce/426892/44 "2007-11-18T18:31:37Z")
Jelled & sliced. MMmmmmm ---
**Author:** ![Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/278dde/32.png) [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runs_With_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2007, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-your-cranberry-sauce/426892/45 "2007-11-18T18:35:58Z")
[QUOTE=Alice The Goon] I don’t like the canned. My grandma used to make a cranberry-orange relish, with little pieces of orange peel in it. It was the bomb. If you ever had that, you’d never go back to canned. [/QUOTE] I could have written this word for word. ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2007, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-your-cranberry-sauce/426892/46 "2007-11-18T20:34:50Z")
Cranberry sauce, if it must exist, is best left at the store. If it must leave the store, I’d prefer it go to someone else’s house. If it absolutely must be in the same house with me, it should be on someone else’s plate. ---
**Author:** ![I\_m\_No\_Saint](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/977dab/32.png) [@I\_m\_No\_Saint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_m_No_Saint)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2007, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-your-cranberry-sauce/426892/47 "2007-11-18T22:11:00Z")
Straight from the can, baby. Anything else is an abomination onto the Lord. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2007, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-your-cranberry-sauce/426892/48 "2007-11-18T22:36:47Z")
Does no one remember the Thanksgiving episode of FRASIER in which Martin chided Daphne over her homemade cranberry sauce, hand-mashed potatoes & toasted-bread dressing- CANNED CB SAUCE, WHIPPED POTATOES, TOASTED-BREAD-CUBE STUFFING MIX! That’s the American way! ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2007, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-your-cranberry-sauce/426892/49 "2007-11-18T23:57:23Z")
i’ll eat most any type of cranberry sauce (not the pepper or horseradish… see abomination post). ocean spray has a lovely cranberry-orange sauce that is in a white tub. very good stuff that. i buy it in bulk. the jellied canned kind is best for sandwiches. it doesn’t slop off. trader joe has a most wonderous chicken breast with cranberry-walnut stuffing. that stuffing is the best i ever ate. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2007, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-your-cranberry-sauce/426892/50 "2007-11-19T00:13:21Z")
[QUOTE=Annie] 1 cup sugar 1 cup water 1 12-ounce package Ocean Spray® Fresh or Frozen Cranberries DIRECTIONS: Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil; add cranberries, return to boil. Reduce heat and boil gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cover and cool completely at room temperature. Refrigerate until serving time. Makes 2 1/4 cups. I squish the berries with a potato masher to get better consistency myself. And use a non stick saucepan. That stuff sticks when it gets hard. [/QUOTE] OK, but how to I form it into the shape of a can so I can slice it properly? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2007, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-your-cranberry-sauce/426892/51 "2007-11-19T00:18:25Z")
[QUOTE=Christopher] OK, but how to I form it into the shape of a can so I can slice it properly? [/QUOTE] Pfft, that’s easy. Get a cleaned-out, empty can to use as a mold. Pour sauce in, let it gel up and cool, pour back out. Voila. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2007, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-your-cranberry-sauce/426892/52 "2007-11-19T00:40:25Z")
I have an extra bag of cranberries, so maybe I will try this. What do I do to make sure there are absolutely no skins or berries left? I’m going to be honest with you. I don’t think it will hold its shape. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2007, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-your-cranberry-sauce/426892/53 "2007-11-19T00:49:57Z")
> [@](#): > > Pfft, that’s easy. Get a cleaned-out, empty can to use as a mold. Pour sauce in, let it gel up and cool, pour back out. Voila. Use a coffee can and serve squab instead of turkey for a FREAK OUT, PERCEPTUAL DISTORTION kind of Thanksgiving. Or put special mushrooms in the stuffing for a similar effect. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2007, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-your-cranberry-sauce/426892/54 "2007-11-19T00:52:30Z")
[QUOTE=Christopher] I have an extra bag of cranberries, so maybe I will try this. What do I do to make sure there are absolutely no skins or berries left? I’m going to be honest with you. I don’t think it will hold its shape. [/QUOTE] My NYT cookbook says to strain it through a “jelly bag” which Mrs. Plant says is likeunto muslin. Put some cornstarch dissolved in warm water in the solution, and it will hold it’s shape. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2007, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-your-cranberry-sauce/426892/55 "2007-11-19T01:00:08Z")
I would be so cool to show up at my sisters thanksgiving next year with my own “canned” cranberry sauce. Of course, it would still be necesary to get a REAL can of cranberry sauce because the fake stuff just wouldn’t cut it. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2007, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-your-cranberry-sauce/426892/56 "2007-11-19T02:30:26Z")
[QUOTE=carnivorousplant] Put some cornstarch dissolved in warm water in the solution, and it will hold it’s shape. 🙂 [/QUOTE] Or try powdered, unflavored gelatin - that’s what I’m putting in my cranberry grappa jelly. ---
**Author:** ![Annie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@Annie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2007, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-your-cranberry-sauce/426892/57 "2007-11-19T02:34:03Z")
[QUOTE=Christopher] OK, but how to I form it into the shape of a can so I can slice it properly? [/QUOTE] Pour into coffee can, then freeze it. Duh! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2007, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-your-cranberry-sauce/426892/58 "2007-11-19T02:43:39Z")
Freeze or corn starch or gelatin it in the intestines of a pig, like sausage. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2007, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-your-cranberry-sauce/426892/59 "2007-11-19T03:24:49Z")
My mom favors a chunky fresh cranberry salad that has other fruits in it as well. Very refreshing. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2007, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-your-cranberry-sauce/426892/60 "2007-11-19T06:13:47Z")
Here’s one I like: > [@Susan Stamberg](#): > > Susan Stamberg’s Mom’s Cranberry Relish > > (from NPR’s All Things Considered) > > 2 c cranberries (chopped) > 3/4 c sour cream > 1 small onion (chopped) > 2 T horseradish > 1/2 c sugar > > Mix well. Freeze until 2 hours before serving. > > Notes: > This is very strong - I use about a teaspoon for several slices of turkey. Also note that a SMALL onion is specified. I use a hand-cranked meat grinder to chop and mix everything together. I concur with her comments. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-your-cranberry-sauce/426892.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-like-your-cranberry-sauce/426892.md?page=4)