NOBODY WANTS YOUR HOMEMADE CRANBERRY SAUCE
November 26, 2020 3:27 AM Subscribe
What it says on (and about!) the tin | In which the estimable Mr. John Moon reveals that he Has Opinions On This Topic.
Ribbed for pleasure
I love the canned stuff but I have a friend whose contribution to Thanksgiving is always homemade cranberry sauce with orange peel, chopped pecans, maybe apple. It's good but more trouble than it's worth.
posted by shoesietart at 4:51 AM on November 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
I love the canned stuff but I have a friend whose contribution to Thanksgiving is always homemade cranberry sauce with orange peel, chopped pecans, maybe apple. It's good but more trouble than it's worth.
posted by shoesietart at 4:51 AM on November 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
Okay I can't vouch for the walnuts and shit, but if you just boil frozen cranberries with water and sugar and let it cool and gel, it's perfect and non-runny and cheap and delicious and takes zero effort compared with everything else you're making for Thanksgiving. #TeamNoCan
posted by saturday_morning at 5:00 AM on November 26, 2020 [50 favorites]
posted by saturday_morning at 5:00 AM on November 26, 2020 [50 favorites]
Team homemade here. The canned stuff is just weird tasting and industrial looking.
posted by octothorpe at 5:02 AM on November 26, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 5:02 AM on November 26, 2020 [5 favorites]
This Thanksgiving I am desperately missing a friend-of-a-friend's homemade cranberry sauce. She works in the kind of rich-hippie market that Whole Foods is trying to put out of business, and her recipe includes ingredients like a single vanilla bean that's been kept in the sugar since last Thanksgiving, and the sugar it was kept in. The stuff tastes like distilled Christmas with a hint of campfire cider-bucket. I never bother putting it on anything, it's a course unto itself.
Mind you, the jelly stuff has its place, and that place is as one layer in a potato-roll turkey sandwich. But while I may not want your homemade cranberry sauce, I do, in fact, want hers.
posted by darksasami at 5:07 AM on November 26, 2020 [6 favorites]
Mind you, the jelly stuff has its place, and that place is as one layer in a potato-roll turkey sandwich. But while I may not want your homemade cranberry sauce, I do, in fact, want hers.
posted by darksasami at 5:07 AM on November 26, 2020 [6 favorites]
Follow package directions (see above)
Before cooling, add 1/4 cup Major Grey chutney
We're all family here. Now you have a family tradition. You're welcome.
posted by persona at 5:07 AM on November 26, 2020 [6 favorites]
Before cooling, add 1/4 cup Major Grey chutney
We're all family here. Now you have a family tradition. You're welcome.
posted by persona at 5:07 AM on November 26, 2020 [6 favorites]
We're doing grilled jerk chicken, coconut rice, sweet potato fries and cornbread for our meal today but now I regret not getting a can of cranberry sauce.
Homemade sauce can be great or it can be meh or it can be awful, depending on the recipe, but the canned stuff is consistently good.
posted by Foosnark at 5:20 AM on November 26, 2020 [4 favorites]
Homemade sauce can be great or it can be meh or it can be awful, depending on the recipe, but the canned stuff is consistently good.
posted by Foosnark at 5:20 AM on November 26, 2020 [4 favorites]
Wow that really does look terrible. I clicked on it thinking you must be exaggerating, but no. Wow.
posted by Literaryhero at 5:24 AM on November 26, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by Literaryhero at 5:24 AM on November 26, 2020 [5 favorites]
Raw cranberries, sugar, a whole orange with peel. Blend until consistency pleases. Refrigerate and serve. You will not buy canned ever again.
posted by Jode at 5:32 AM on November 26, 2020 [11 favorites]
posted by Jode at 5:32 AM on November 26, 2020 [11 favorites]
I have said it before, I will say it again:
My family, who has legit been growing cranberries for Ocean Spray for three generations now, does a cranberry relish which is nothing more than cranberries, orange, and a little sugar and that's it. Dump a bag or two of cranberries into a food processor, chuck in a seedless orange or two, and chop them all to hell. Add some sugar if it tastes like it needs it. Done. Simple, makes plenty and you can do it a couple days in advance and leave it in the fridge until you're ready.
It has become a personal Thanksgiving ritual for me to hear NPR talk about Mama Stamberg's Cranberry Relish and to then go on a small crusade about "WHAT THE HELL IS HORSE RADISH DOING IN THERE".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:32 AM on November 26, 2020 [42 favorites]
My family, who has legit been growing cranberries for Ocean Spray for three generations now, does a cranberry relish which is nothing more than cranberries, orange, and a little sugar and that's it. Dump a bag or two of cranberries into a food processor, chuck in a seedless orange or two, and chop them all to hell. Add some sugar if it tastes like it needs it. Done. Simple, makes plenty and you can do it a couple days in advance and leave it in the fridge until you're ready.
It has become a personal Thanksgiving ritual for me to hear NPR talk about Mama Stamberg's Cranberry Relish and to then go on a small crusade about "WHAT THE HELL IS HORSE RADISH DOING IN THERE".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:32 AM on November 26, 2020 [42 favorites]
I also have strong opinions on cranberry condiment. There are basically three camps:
-Cranberry relish: grind up cranberries and citrus, add sugar, and serve. This never touches heat. My mother-in-law makes a relish for Thanksgiving, and it includes whole lemons and oranges, which makes the whole thing too bitter because of the citrus pith. Why do all of these recipes always include the pith? And raw cranberries are just not that good!
-Cranberry sauce: whole cranberries, sugar, and citrus juice get cooked until the cranberries burst and the mixture is pourable. This is ok, but makes too much of a mess. It's too thin to go on a leftover turkey sandwich, and on the Thanksgiving plate it competes with the gravy. You don't want two liquid condiments competing for attention, and I don't know why you'd want liquid cranberry soaking up in your mashed potatoes.
-Cranberry jelly: the ideal. Cook cranberries with sugar until gel stage is reached, and strain it to produce a clarified, wobbly, standalone side dish. This can hold up to the rigors of being crammed in to a plate next to a big pile of turkey and too many sides. The tartness cuts through the generally heavy, unctuous flavors of the rest of the meal. You can spread it on bread for sandwiches later.
Now, after some experimenting over the past couple of weeks, I can announce that I have successfully made a fourth state of cranberry matter... the cranberry pate de fruit. It is cranberry jelly taken to its absurd extreme. It is cranberry perfection in a handheld, bite sized package. A ruby jewel to behold. This is jelly that will fight back, it is concentrated tart and sweet, it is something that will cause your father to cower and your children to weep.
Behold.
posted by backseatpilot at 5:34 AM on November 26, 2020 [34 favorites]
-Cranberry relish: grind up cranberries and citrus, add sugar, and serve. This never touches heat. My mother-in-law makes a relish for Thanksgiving, and it includes whole lemons and oranges, which makes the whole thing too bitter because of the citrus pith. Why do all of these recipes always include the pith? And raw cranberries are just not that good!
-Cranberry sauce: whole cranberries, sugar, and citrus juice get cooked until the cranberries burst and the mixture is pourable. This is ok, but makes too much of a mess. It's too thin to go on a leftover turkey sandwich, and on the Thanksgiving plate it competes with the gravy. You don't want two liquid condiments competing for attention, and I don't know why you'd want liquid cranberry soaking up in your mashed potatoes.
-Cranberry jelly: the ideal. Cook cranberries with sugar until gel stage is reached, and strain it to produce a clarified, wobbly, standalone side dish. This can hold up to the rigors of being crammed in to a plate next to a big pile of turkey and too many sides. The tartness cuts through the generally heavy, unctuous flavors of the rest of the meal. You can spread it on bread for sandwiches later.
Now, after some experimenting over the past couple of weeks, I can announce that I have successfully made a fourth state of cranberry matter... the cranberry pate de fruit. It is cranberry jelly taken to its absurd extreme. It is cranberry perfection in a handheld, bite sized package. A ruby jewel to behold. This is jelly that will fight back, it is concentrated tart and sweet, it is something that will cause your father to cower and your children to weep.
Behold.
posted by backseatpilot at 5:34 AM on November 26, 2020 [34 favorites]
ONION SHOULDN'T BE THERE EITHER.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:07 AM on November 26, 2020 [17 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:07 AM on November 26, 2020 [17 favorites]
I have a friend who gives me a huge jar of homemade cranberry sauce every year, if we meet up close to the holidays. They picked the wild cranberries in Sweden. It's good, but we just don't eat that much of it, given that my sister-in-law make our own jellies to go with the roasts, which our family prefers. So now I have several old jars standing about in the backs of cupboards and in the laundry room etc. The thing is, I'm not sure how to recycle them. And I don't have the heart to say no thanks. So last year and this year, I'm saying I'm too busy to meet before New Years. It's sad.
posted by mumimor at 6:11 AM on November 26, 2020
posted by mumimor at 6:11 AM on November 26, 2020
Canned forever.
It goes in your fanciest-ass serving dish with a lid.
When you bring it to the table, you start singing Also Sprach Zarathustra. You take it from behind your back on the first WHUM BUM! You place it on the table during the BUMBUM BUMBUM BUMBUMs and da daaa daaaaa. Then you escalate to near shouting so you can remove the lid and unveil the glory on the final higher-pitched WHA-DAAAA!!!
JOIN ME OR DIE! Can you do any less?
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 6:17 AM on November 26, 2020 [29 favorites]
It goes in your fanciest-ass serving dish with a lid.
When you bring it to the table, you start singing Also Sprach Zarathustra. You take it from behind your back on the first WHUM BUM! You place it on the table during the BUMBUM BUMBUM BUMBUMs and da daaa daaaaa. Then you escalate to near shouting so you can remove the lid and unveil the glory on the final higher-pitched WHA-DAAAA!!!
JOIN ME OR DIE! Can you do any less?
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 6:17 AM on November 26, 2020 [29 favorites]
One year I made cranberry syrup and that turned out more versatile than I expected (which admittedly was a low bar). Good on pancakes, ice cream, in seltzer or in mixed drinks, kept forever in the fridge.
posted by sepviva at 6:18 AM on November 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by sepviva at 6:18 AM on November 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
Not a fan of the red jello that comes in a can. Commercial stuff has waaaaaaaaaaaay too much sugar and nowhere near enough citrus to pop the flavour properly.
Cranberry relishes can be very nice, but aren't the classic cranberry sauce (though I do want to try the Caponata di Mirtilli Rossi on this page for Christmas, complete with capers and olives. She put in some anchovy paste too, but I don't see that in the recipe.).
A cranberry coulis isn't that hard to make, and you can get it to near solid preserve if you like simply by reduction.
posted by bonehead at 6:21 AM on November 26, 2020
Cranberry relishes can be very nice, but aren't the classic cranberry sauce (though I do want to try the Caponata di Mirtilli Rossi on this page for Christmas, complete with capers and olives. She put in some anchovy paste too, but I don't see that in the recipe.).
A cranberry coulis isn't that hard to make, and you can get it to near solid preserve if you like simply by reduction.
posted by bonehead at 6:21 AM on November 26, 2020
The homemade stuff is just a crude jam, and it takes like 15 minutes to make. Forcing it through a sieve will make the can-lovers more comfortable when the skins are gone, and only adds a little more time. Plus you make it the day before anyway -- so there's no excuse not to do it!
(It makes a wicked good PB¬-J after the holiday, too.)
posted by wenestvedt at 6:25 AM on November 26, 2020 [3 favorites]
(It makes a wicked good PB¬-J after the holiday, too.)
posted by wenestvedt at 6:25 AM on November 26, 2020 [3 favorites]
CANBERRY SAUCE ALL THE WAY
posted by Huffy Puffy at 6:37 AM on November 26, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by Huffy Puffy at 6:37 AM on November 26, 2020 [4 favorites]
I know someone who makes their own cranberry sauce, then puts it into an empty can to set up and unmold like the commercial stuff.
posted by briank at 6:41 AM on November 26, 2020 [16 favorites]
posted by briank at 6:41 AM on November 26, 2020 [16 favorites]
This year alone I am having canned cranberry jelly stuff and Stove Top stuffing, not any fancily made by relatives stuff with more fancy ingredients that mysteriously does not taste as good somehow. I admit I am not into cooking, but also tired of slightly weird grainy cranberry and wet stuffing that the relatives make and I do not have to have this year.
Also I FREAKING LOVE THIS SONG.
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:05 AM on November 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
Also I FREAKING LOVE THIS SONG.
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:05 AM on November 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
I make the relish with the raw cranberries and orange, but also add an apple. And I added some dates this year, because I like sweeter better than tart. It’s funny because I actually kind of like a cooked sauce/chutney, but my grandma always made the relish and so I make some for myself every year, whether I’m bringing it for a big meal or not. (I mostly end up eating it for breakfast on top of plain yogurt with some dark chocolate chips added)
posted by jeweled accumulation at 7:16 AM on November 26, 2020
posted by jeweled accumulation at 7:16 AM on November 26, 2020
Even though it’s just my wife and me doing it this year, we’re doing the whole traditional thanksgiving meal, which for us means not one but two kinds of homemade cranberry sauce (cooked and raw). I’ll admit I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for the canned stuff, but our homemade stuff is so much better.
posted by adamrice at 7:19 AM on November 26, 2020
posted by adamrice at 7:19 AM on November 26, 2020
I grew up with the canned stuff that came out in the shape of a can. Nothing but homemade for me now -- cranberries, water, a bit of sugar, boil and let gel. My family likes the home made stuff enough that me make it at our camping meals.
posted by fimbulvetr at 7:20 AM on November 26, 2020
posted by fimbulvetr at 7:20 AM on November 26, 2020
We're having two different homemade cranberry sauces because we're swapping side-dishes with the neighbors next door this year.
posted by octothorpe at 7:21 AM on November 26, 2020
posted by octothorpe at 7:21 AM on November 26, 2020
Cranberry sauce: whole cranberries, sugar, and citrus juice get cooked until the cranberries burst and the mixture is pourable. This is ok, but makes too much of a mess. It's too thin to go on a leftover turkey sandwich
It is only thin and watery if you use too much liquid or don't cook it enough. If you do it right it thickens up nicely.
posted by fimbulvetr at 7:23 AM on November 26, 2020 [9 favorites]
It is only thin and watery if you use too much liquid or don't cook it enough. If you do it right it thickens up nicely.
posted by fimbulvetr at 7:23 AM on November 26, 2020 [9 favorites]
Is it not normal to have both canned and homemade cranberry sauce on the table? Because I always do that and it solves this dumb argument.
posted by showbiz_liz at 7:35 AM on November 26, 2020 [20 favorites]
posted by showbiz_liz at 7:35 AM on November 26, 2020 [20 favorites]
I just finished making my homemade cranberry sauce. But I do enjoy the canned variety, too. (Two totally different animals).
posted by marimeko at 7:36 AM on November 26, 2020
posted by marimeko at 7:36 AM on November 26, 2020
Give me canned cranberry sauce or give me death. The founding fathers would have wanted it this way.
posted by photoslob at 7:43 AM on November 26, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by photoslob at 7:43 AM on November 26, 2020 [1 favorite]
Mike Jordan: Canned cranberry sauce is The Devil and don't let The Devil in your house this Thanksgiving
posted by jedicus at 7:45 AM on November 26, 2020
posted by jedicus at 7:45 AM on November 26, 2020
I have had a nearly 40 year love for the canned stuff, interrupted only once by my aunt's homemade chunky sauce. It was actually really tasty, but I'm still not giving up on that particular addiction, though it will be somewhat delayed this year.
posted by wierdo at 7:50 AM on November 26, 2020
posted by wierdo at 7:50 AM on November 26, 2020
it solves this dumb argument
Ain't no solving an argument that exists to be argued pointlessly and hopefully friendlily about. That's like trying to solve what is the One True Barbecue.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 7:52 AM on November 26, 2020 [3 favorites]
Ain't no solving an argument that exists to be argued pointlessly and hopefully friendlily about. That's like trying to solve what is the One True Barbecue.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 7:52 AM on November 26, 2020 [3 favorites]
I sidestep the canned or fresh argument by not having either. I don't like cranberries. So sue me.
posted by Splunge at 7:56 AM on November 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by Splunge at 7:56 AM on November 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
I don't like cranberries
I CAST THEE OUT.
posted by saturday_morning at 7:58 AM on November 26, 2020 [5 favorites]
I CAST THEE OUT.
posted by saturday_morning at 7:58 AM on November 26, 2020 [5 favorites]
Also I FREAKING LOVE THIS SONG.
Thank you jenfullmoon!! It is indeed awesome and the main reason I posted!!
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 8:13 AM on November 26, 2020 [1 favorite]
Thank you jenfullmoon!! It is indeed awesome and the main reason I posted!!
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 8:13 AM on November 26, 2020 [1 favorite]
That's like trying to solve what is the One True Barbecue.
This is solved.
posted by maxwelton at 8:16 AM on November 26, 2020 [1 favorite]
This is solved.
posted by maxwelton at 8:16 AM on November 26, 2020 [1 favorite]
If it's cooked properly, whole-berry cranberry sauce should not be a runny liquid. The trick to confirming the chunky type will gel properly is to keep a couple small plates (or spoons, metal spoons also work) in the freezer, and use them to test the gel before you remove the sauce from the heat. Drop small amount of sauce on frozen plate. Does it gel up? If so, you're done. If not, keep cooking.
For the smooth variety, it's less important as long as you chuck everything in a food mill when you're done.
posted by pie ninja at 8:23 AM on November 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
For the smooth variety, it's less important as long as you chuck everything in a food mill when you're done.
posted by pie ninja at 8:23 AM on November 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
This year, to be extra, I melted the canned jellied, whisked, put it in a bowl, let it set, so it can be prettier. I love the stuff.
A family member made homemade, it bubbled over, took forever to clean, and I don't really like it with nuts and bits of peel and certainly no pith.
PandemicGiving is me and 1 friend, with doors and windows open, for a brief meal, oh boy. Otherwise I would make cranberry ice from 1 can jellied, some limemade(make as directed use maybe a canful), lime juice, possibly a bit of grated peel. This is frozen and you use a fork to break it up and mash it, served in punch cups. I guess it's a palate cleanser but it is a bright acidic treat among all the other stuff. I have made it with raspberries, lemon, or orange and it's always easy and tasty.
posted by theora55 at 8:24 AM on November 26, 2020 [5 favorites]
A family member made homemade, it bubbled over, took forever to clean, and I don't really like it with nuts and bits of peel and certainly no pith.
PandemicGiving is me and 1 friend, with doors and windows open, for a brief meal, oh boy. Otherwise I would make cranberry ice from 1 can jellied, some limemade(make as directed use maybe a canful), lime juice, possibly a bit of grated peel. This is frozen and you use a fork to break it up and mash it, served in punch cups. I guess it's a palate cleanser but it is a bright acidic treat among all the other stuff. I have made it with raspberries, lemon, or orange and it's always easy and tasty.
posted by theora55 at 8:24 AM on November 26, 2020 [5 favorites]
I like the jelly because the way it plops out of a can is just the most satisfying thing ever. And you get this perfect negative can shape, ridges and all... and it wobbles like a mid-to-late 90s SIGGRAPH demo.
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 8:44 AM on November 26, 2020 [8 favorites]
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 8:44 AM on November 26, 2020 [8 favorites]
If you can’t make up your mind, there’s always homemade jellied cranberry sauce
Whenever I see the canned stuff, I think of it as cranberry sauce á la Bart.
posted by TedW at 8:52 AM on November 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
Whenever I see the canned stuff, I think of it as cranberry sauce á la Bart.
posted by TedW at 8:52 AM on November 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
shiwbiz_liz: Is it not normal to have both canned and homemade cranberry sauce on the table?
Someone called into the Home Cooking podcast last week with the same question: she wanted to know if it was OK to serve nice, homemade stuff to her guests but also have a can of the fake stuff for herself "because I am a trash goblin."
I think that admission answers the question rather neatly, in a "Know thyself" kind of way. Happy holidays, and enjoy what you like!
posted by wenestvedt at 8:57 AM on November 26, 2020 [6 favorites]
Someone called into the Home Cooking podcast last week with the same question: she wanted to know if it was OK to serve nice, homemade stuff to her guests but also have a can of the fake stuff for herself "because I am a trash goblin."
I think that admission answers the question rather neatly, in a "Know thyself" kind of way. Happy holidays, and enjoy what you like!
posted by wenestvedt at 8:57 AM on November 26, 2020 [6 favorites]
Simple homemade cranberry sauce is the best. Substitute Cointreau as the orange flavoring. A bit of cinnamon and cloves. Skip the extras - nuts in a cranberry sauce is an abomination that will not stand.
This year alone I am having canned cranberry jelly stuff and Stove Top stuffing, not any fancily made by relatives stuff with more fancy ingredients that mysteriously does not taste as good somehow.
Stove Top stuffing is the best, better than homemade.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 9:00 AM on November 26, 2020 [3 favorites]
This year alone I am having canned cranberry jelly stuff and Stove Top stuffing, not any fancily made by relatives stuff with more fancy ingredients that mysteriously does not taste as good somehow.
Stove Top stuffing is the best, better than homemade.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 9:00 AM on November 26, 2020 [3 favorites]
I am team Raw Cranberries with Orange and Sugar. I pulverize them to hell in a food processor, but when I was a kid and we didn't have a food processor, my mom and I used to process them with a hand-cranked meat grinder. Cooked cranberries don't do it for me.
posted by Daily Alice at 9:01 AM on November 26, 2020
posted by Daily Alice at 9:01 AM on November 26, 2020
The homemade stuff is just a crude jam, and it takes like 15 minutes to make. Forcing it through a sieve will make the can-lovers more comfortable when the skins are gone, and only adds a little more time. Plus you make it the day before anyway -- so there's no excuse not to do it!
This. The only reason there's even a debate is because people keep leaving shit in their jelly by not putting it through a strainer or even putting it in the Cuisinart for a minute to homogenize it if they must have pits in their mouths while eating jelly.
The whole thing about making a jam/jelly is getting the pectin in the fruit to gel. For that you need sugar and acid. Sugar in the water, a little acid from citrus. The rest is just proportions from experience and to taste. People forget that this is the whole point of cranberry jelly. Instead they do too much stupid fancy shit and they lose the core essence of just getting the pectin setting right.
posted by Your Childhood Pet Rock at 9:19 AM on November 26, 2020 [1 favorite]
This. The only reason there's even a debate is because people keep leaving shit in their jelly by not putting it through a strainer or even putting it in the Cuisinart for a minute to homogenize it if they must have pits in their mouths while eating jelly.
The whole thing about making a jam/jelly is getting the pectin in the fruit to gel. For that you need sugar and acid. Sugar in the water, a little acid from citrus. The rest is just proportions from experience and to taste. People forget that this is the whole point of cranberry jelly. Instead they do too much stupid fancy shit and they lose the core essence of just getting the pectin setting right.
posted by Your Childhood Pet Rock at 9:19 AM on November 26, 2020 [1 favorite]
I make the cranberries, orange and sugar in a food processor with the addition of a little crystalized ginger - so good. Grew up on both that and the canned stuff but we all vastly prefer the freshness of the homemade against all the other thanksgiving dishes.
posted by leslies at 10:14 AM on November 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by leslies at 10:14 AM on November 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
That song is tremendous, a true holiday banger! Also the video is great and features a kitten!
But anyway I like both canned and sauce. Relish makes no sense - I have eaten a raw cranberry a few times and it always tastes like terrible grapefruit rind and I am left at the sink going “why did I do that again?” and I feel like no amount of sugar or whatever is going to improve things without heat.
I normally make my own cranberry sauce because I like cooking and it’s one place I can experiment in an otherwise nearly stoneset menu at my parents’ house, since the rest of the folks don’t have very much of it. Growing up, decanting and slicing the canned cranberry jelly was my job along with setting and decorating the table, so it grew out of that, and I will still happily tuck into the canned stuff (yes, the ridges are important!) when offered.
One shouldn’t strain homemade sauce and put it in a mold to set because I feel like that is duplicitous. It sets up expectations for the canned stuff and lets people down. I also like the texture of the burst cranberries; if you simmer it long enough it becomes tender, and also that’s a good indicator that the sauce will set up once cold, and have enough body for spreading on a leftovers sandwich.
Previous years my cranberry sauce improvisations have included: pear and fresh ginger, apricot nectar and cardamom, bourbon and brown sugar with orange juice, apple and cinnamon with lemon. This year on my funky alone Thanksgiving my cranberry sauce has red wine in it and some of that chopped ginger from a jar, it’s living in a French mustard jar in the fridge and looking very mysterious.
posted by Mizu at 10:14 AM on November 26, 2020 [5 favorites]
But anyway I like both canned and sauce. Relish makes no sense - I have eaten a raw cranberry a few times and it always tastes like terrible grapefruit rind and I am left at the sink going “why did I do that again?” and I feel like no amount of sugar or whatever is going to improve things without heat.
I normally make my own cranberry sauce because I like cooking and it’s one place I can experiment in an otherwise nearly stoneset menu at my parents’ house, since the rest of the folks don’t have very much of it. Growing up, decanting and slicing the canned cranberry jelly was my job along with setting and decorating the table, so it grew out of that, and I will still happily tuck into the canned stuff (yes, the ridges are important!) when offered.
One shouldn’t strain homemade sauce and put it in a mold to set because I feel like that is duplicitous. It sets up expectations for the canned stuff and lets people down. I also like the texture of the burst cranberries; if you simmer it long enough it becomes tender, and also that’s a good indicator that the sauce will set up once cold, and have enough body for spreading on a leftovers sandwich.
Previous years my cranberry sauce improvisations have included: pear and fresh ginger, apricot nectar and cardamom, bourbon and brown sugar with orange juice, apple and cinnamon with lemon. This year on my funky alone Thanksgiving my cranberry sauce has red wine in it and some of that chopped ginger from a jar, it’s living in a French mustard jar in the fridge and looking very mysterious.
posted by Mizu at 10:14 AM on November 26, 2020 [5 favorites]
The homemade stuff is just a crude jam....
'scuse me?
Crude has no place being near the words cranberry jelly or jam. Homemade preferred, or canned in a pinch, and you eat it on toast with butter for days after the holiday.
Yummmmmmmm
posted by BlueHorse at 12:19 PM on November 26, 2020
'scuse me?
Crude has no place being near the words cranberry jelly or jam. Homemade preferred, or canned in a pinch, and you eat it on toast with butter for days after the holiday.
Yummmmmmmm
posted by BlueHorse at 12:19 PM on November 26, 2020
As a kid, I had enough texture issues to want only canned (and not the canned whole berry either). Then at some point I tried homemade and fell in love. Now my own sauce is such a requirement that I'd take my own dang sauce to the dinner at Mom's retirement home.
But we've got family members who only like canned, there is also a can on the table, because a holiday centered on food shouldn't be about forcing people to eat things they don't enjoy.
posted by JawnBigboote at 12:40 PM on November 26, 2020 [4 favorites]
But we've got family members who only like canned, there is also a can on the table, because a holiday centered on food shouldn't be about forcing people to eat things they don't enjoy.
posted by JawnBigboote at 12:40 PM on November 26, 2020 [4 favorites]
But we've got family members who only like canned, there is also a can on the table, because a holiday centered on food shouldn't be about forcing people to eat things they don't enjoy.
When my whole raft of aunts-uncles-cousins-grandparents were all gathering, it became almost a ritual of our Thanksgivings to have two different kinds of apple salad on the table - the only difference between them was that one didn't have raisins in it, because "Cousin Tommy doesn't like raisins". Truth be told, I think other people also ate "Tommy's apple salad" secretly as well.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:47 PM on November 26, 2020 [1 favorite]
When my whole raft of aunts-uncles-cousins-grandparents were all gathering, it became almost a ritual of our Thanksgivings to have two different kinds of apple salad on the table - the only difference between them was that one didn't have raisins in it, because "Cousin Tommy doesn't like raisins". Truth be told, I think other people also ate "Tommy's apple salad" secretly as well.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:47 PM on November 26, 2020 [1 favorite]
The canned stuff tastes like it was made from the corpses of cranberries disinterred from unsanctified graves to me.
But to each their own and welcome to it!
posted by jamjam at 1:44 PM on November 26, 2020
But to each their own and welcome to it!
posted by jamjam at 1:44 PM on November 26, 2020
ONION SHOULDN'T BE THERE EITHER.
What's gonna complement the au jus in it, then?
I suppose you could use minced prime rib instead...
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 3:52 PM on November 26, 2020
What's gonna complement the au jus in it, then?
I suppose you could use minced prime rib instead...
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 3:52 PM on November 26, 2020
I am about to attempt a pineapple/orange cranberry sauce and it's going to be fantastic.
We're also putting pineapple in our stuffing.
Come at me, get whisked, yo.
posted by loquacious at 4:04 PM on November 26, 2020 [6 favorites]
We're also putting pineapple in our stuffing.
Come at me, get whisked, yo.
posted by loquacious at 4:04 PM on November 26, 2020 [6 favorites]
I made a cranberry relish that was pretty good, Toss fresh cranberries in a small food processor, dump results in a bowl, fill the small food processor with frozen blackberries and smidge of frozen blueberries, dump results onto the cranberries. Mix with honey let stand 24 hours. Ready to eat.
posted by evilDoug at 4:25 PM on November 26, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by evilDoug at 4:25 PM on November 26, 2020 [1 favorite]
Well,
I started making my own home made cranberry sauce about 10 years ago, and I have never looked back. For me the trick is to cut the sugar by half and I like adding wine and cardamom, but I didn't have a red on hand this year so a bit of ginger it is.
When you take a bite, the back of your jaw should clench, that's when you know its right. My toddler wandered over, and asked in his way for a taste of what I was cooking. After I had sufficiently cooled it, I offered a spoonful. The initial taste made his hands shake. He turned and sped off in full fight-or-fight mode. He then slowed, and wandered back. Sheepishly asking for the rest, he soldiered though the sensory overload that is proper cranberry sauce.
Good stuff.
posted by The Power Nap at 5:36 PM on November 26, 2020 [4 favorites]
I started making my own home made cranberry sauce about 10 years ago, and I have never looked back. For me the trick is to cut the sugar by half and I like adding wine and cardamom, but I didn't have a red on hand this year so a bit of ginger it is.
When you take a bite, the back of your jaw should clench, that's when you know its right. My toddler wandered over, and asked in his way for a taste of what I was cooking. After I had sufficiently cooled it, I offered a spoonful. The initial taste made his hands shake. He turned and sped off in full fight-or-fight mode. He then slowed, and wandered back. Sheepishly asking for the rest, he soldiered though the sensory overload that is proper cranberry sauce.
Good stuff.
posted by The Power Nap at 5:36 PM on November 26, 2020 [4 favorites]
Our big thing is (my delicious homemade) cranberry sauce on cornmeal* pancakes the day after Thanksgiving.
* There are two recipes for cornmeal pancakes in Joy of Cooking. You want the one where you soak the cornmeal in boiling water. Worth the extra half hour.
posted by BrashTech at 5:47 PM on November 26, 2020 [3 favorites]
* There are two recipes for cornmeal pancakes in Joy of Cooking. You want the one where you soak the cornmeal in boiling water. Worth the extra half hour.
posted by BrashTech at 5:47 PM on November 26, 2020 [3 favorites]
I forgot to say this earlier, but upon reviewing while eating my cranberry sauce from a can: I don't know how this guy managed to bitch slap HIMSELF with cranberry sauce on video, but that is IMPRESSIVE.
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:11 PM on November 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:11 PM on November 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
Pineapple-orange cranberry sauce was absolutely incredible. So good. People definitely wanted my homemade cranberry sauce
It's mostly my friend/boss/housemate and I cooking and we run a closed restaurant so things got wild and that might have been the best Thanksgiving dinner I've ever had. There's only a few of us so we kept it focused and easy on the basics with a nice twist on everything.
I need like two naps at once right frickin' now.
posted by loquacious at 7:07 PM on November 26, 2020 [4 favorites]
It's mostly my friend/boss/housemate and I cooking and we run a closed restaurant so things got wild and that might have been the best Thanksgiving dinner I've ever had. There's only a few of us so we kept it focused and easy on the basics with a nice twist on everything.
I need like two naps at once right frickin' now.
posted by loquacious at 7:07 PM on November 26, 2020 [4 favorites]
By the way, homemade cranberry sauce can be used to make a delicious quickbread with the texture of banana bread. It rules.
Maybe don’t do this if you’re one of the people who puts onions in yours though.
posted by showbiz_liz at 7:19 PM on November 26, 2020 [3 favorites]
Maybe don’t do this if you’re one of the people who puts onions in yours though.
posted by showbiz_liz at 7:19 PM on November 26, 2020 [3 favorites]
I do the raw cranberries and whole orange and sugar thing, but I add a half a jar of GINGER PRESERVES. Put it all in the food processor, and then serve it to my guests, then I open a can of jellied cranberry sauce and eat it by myself. Let them call me crazy, I can take it!
posted by DMelanogaster at 8:30 PM on November 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by DMelanogaster at 8:30 PM on November 26, 2020 [2 favorites]
Put it all in the food processor, and then serve it to my guests, then I open a can of jellied cranberry sauce and eat it by myself. Let them call me crazy, I can take it!
Nice!
posted by Literaryhero at 4:34 AM on November 27, 2020
Nice!
posted by Literaryhero at 4:34 AM on November 27, 2020
Hill on which I would die: Stove Top stuffing is the best, better than homemade. No. No, stovetop is adequate at best, on a weeknight with frozen chicken nuggets.
A little bit of cranberry with the gravy and turkey and homemade stuffing is the best.
posted by theora55 at 5:34 AM on November 27, 2020
A little bit of cranberry with the gravy and turkey and homemade stuffing is the best.
posted by theora55 at 5:34 AM on November 27, 2020
omg, hours away from homemade "stuffing" (dressing, technically) with smoked oysters. have had oysters once since March. MUST HAVE!
And, it appears my grocery store carries cranberries? (Ocean Spray, natch.) I don't know how I have made it all these decades and never noticed. Like, I've been the primary grocery shopper for 20 years and generally go for the most basic ingredients to eliminate excess sugar, etc. and... just blind spotted on them this whole time?
Totally going to try the tried-and-true cranberry method mentioned above, but also that one from loquaciouswith pineapple. Debating on swapping out the orange for number 2 with cointreau, as suggested above by TheBigRedKittyPurrs
And, EmpressCallipygos, please send my love to your family. I go through at least 2 of the 101 oz bottles of Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice (cocktail) a week.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 6:58 AM on November 27, 2020
And, it appears my grocery store carries cranberries? (Ocean Spray, natch.) I don't know how I have made it all these decades and never noticed. Like, I've been the primary grocery shopper for 20 years and generally go for the most basic ingredients to eliminate excess sugar, etc. and... just blind spotted on them this whole time?
Totally going to try the tried-and-true cranberry method mentioned above, but also that one from loquaciouswith pineapple. Debating on swapping out the orange for number 2 with cointreau, as suggested above by TheBigRedKittyPurrs
And, EmpressCallipygos, please send my love to your family. I go through at least 2 of the 101 oz bottles of Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice (cocktail) a week.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 6:58 AM on November 27, 2020
I love this thread and want to try everyone’s recipes, even the ones that sound utterly vile to me, because they are all so interesting.
I’m a homemade sauce devotee, myself. But I was absolutely mad for the canned stuff as a child. Like, to the point that my parents would stockpile cans for me to have as an after school snack throughout the year. It occurs to me now that my own child has never tried the canned version; I must remedy this forthwith.
posted by la glaneuse at 7:49 AM on November 27, 2020 [3 favorites]
I’m a homemade sauce devotee, myself. But I was absolutely mad for the canned stuff as a child. Like, to the point that my parents would stockpile cans for me to have as an after school snack throughout the year. It occurs to me now that my own child has never tried the canned version; I must remedy this forthwith.
posted by la glaneuse at 7:49 AM on November 27, 2020 [3 favorites]
Wow that really does look terrible. I clicked on it thinking you must be exaggerating, but no. Wow.
Truly a face for radio.
posted by pwnguin at 12:51 PM on November 27, 2020
Truly a face for radio.
posted by pwnguin at 12:51 PM on November 27, 2020
please send my love to your family. I go through at least 2 of the 101 oz bottles of Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice (cocktail) a week.
Aw, thank you! My brother's pretty much taken things over, and has gone all-in on it - the farmers Ocean Spray teams up with can still keep some berries to sell in local markets, and he made up little baggies to sell in the local twee "general store" where they live, enlisting my niece to design the label and everything. My niece even came up with a cranberry chocolate chip muffin recipe that I will report back on when I try tomorrow...It calls for fresh cranberries, not sauce. Although a dollop of leftover sauce in the middle of a corn muffin right before you bake it might be an interesting thing to try.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:02 PM on November 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
Aw, thank you! My brother's pretty much taken things over, and has gone all-in on it - the farmers Ocean Spray teams up with can still keep some berries to sell in local markets, and he made up little baggies to sell in the local twee "general store" where they live, enlisting my niece to design the label and everything. My niece even came up with a cranberry chocolate chip muffin recipe that I will report back on when I try tomorrow...It calls for fresh cranberries, not sauce. Although a dollop of leftover sauce in the middle of a corn muffin right before you bake it might be an interesting thing to try.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 6:02 PM on November 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
Well it turned out there was a request for my single grower artisanal -- traditional 'grandmothers recipe' cranberry sauce. Hand delivered, almost touchless, on the morning of the 26th and received honest indirect feedback from a reliable intermediary that it was enjoyed.
So there, you faux t-day critics.
Gobble.
posted by sammyo at 7:58 PM on November 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
So there, you faux t-day critics.
Gobble.
posted by sammyo at 7:58 PM on November 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
Thanks to all who shared recipes and anecdotes! I truly have no opinion on the subject and would likely love all the non-canned versions across the board.
I really never thought the thread would evolve like this- I just though the song/video was hilarious and wanted to share it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 4:26 AM on November 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
I really never thought the thread would evolve like this- I just though the song/video was hilarious and wanted to share it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 4:26 AM on November 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
As a Canadian I find it amusing that I'm late to a thread about cranberry sauce that is (in it's self) a month late.
That being said - homemade sauce as mentioned many many times above should have citrus, less sugar than suggested and maybe something from the 'mulled spices' family of flavourings. I am partial to cinnamon and a little ginger and nutmeg myself. Where the sauce truly shines though is on icecream.
Stuffing though, oh dear no. It doesn't matter what stuffing you think is better - it's all bad. Bread products should never be intentionally soggy or damp and anything made of sausage or oysters or whatever is salmonella begging to happen. What about cooking it outside of the turkey you ask? To which the reply is: "that wouldn't make it stuffing would it - that's unstuffeding".
At that point you have to ask yourself "what exactly is so great about this thing that you'd make it on a stove top instead of in the bird to avoid wasting fat (as originally intended) and expect any right thinking person to view it as desirable instead of a terrible relic of the past that should have the decency to stay buried?"
posted by mce at 8:33 AM on November 28, 2020
That being said - homemade sauce as mentioned many many times above should have citrus, less sugar than suggested and maybe something from the 'mulled spices' family of flavourings. I am partial to cinnamon and a little ginger and nutmeg myself. Where the sauce truly shines though is on icecream.
Stuffing though, oh dear no. It doesn't matter what stuffing you think is better - it's all bad. Bread products should never be intentionally soggy or damp and anything made of sausage or oysters or whatever is salmonella begging to happen. What about cooking it outside of the turkey you ask? To which the reply is: "that wouldn't make it stuffing would it - that's unstuffeding".
At that point you have to ask yourself "what exactly is so great about this thing that you'd make it on a stove top instead of in the bird to avoid wasting fat (as originally intended) and expect any right thinking person to view it as desirable instead of a terrible relic of the past that should have the decency to stay buried?"
posted by mce at 8:33 AM on November 28, 2020
For the pineapple-orange cranberry sauce, it was basically just the standard home made cranberry sauce recipe plus finely diced fresh pineapple. I think I put about a cup or so in it. I also used about a table spoon of finely minced orange rind and the juice from a rather large orange, etc.
If I did it again I might add some amount of larger chunks of pineapple for the texture, because when it was done the finely cubed/chopped stuff basically melted into the cranberry pectin and I think I would like it with a bit more texture.
We also did pineapple chunks in our hodge podge sourdough bread stuffing along with tart apples and it was glorious, especially with the tangy flavors of the locally baked sourdough.
And since everyone here is the right kind of insane and likes pineapple on pizza it was a hit.
posted by loquacious at 1:10 PM on November 28, 2020
If I did it again I might add some amount of larger chunks of pineapple for the texture, because when it was done the finely cubed/chopped stuff basically melted into the cranberry pectin and I think I would like it with a bit more texture.
We also did pineapple chunks in our hodge podge sourdough bread stuffing along with tart apples and it was glorious, especially with the tangy flavors of the locally baked sourdough.
And since everyone here is the right kind of insane and likes pineapple on pizza it was a hit.
posted by loquacious at 1:10 PM on November 28, 2020
* runs in, flush with the excitement of discovery *
Yo. Do you have leftover cranberry sauce or relish? Preferably one with a sweeter profile (no horseradish or onion)?
Try putting it on waffles or pancakes. If you have relish, maybe mix it with a little syrup. If it's the homemade sauce, just plop it on and spread a little.
I just inhaled a small stack of sourdough waffles topped with a little syrup and the leftover relish I made, and the tartness of the cranberry set off the super-sweet syrup perfectly.
* runs out *
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:15 AM on November 29, 2020 [2 favorites]
Yo. Do you have leftover cranberry sauce or relish? Preferably one with a sweeter profile (no horseradish or onion)?
Try putting it on waffles or pancakes. If you have relish, maybe mix it with a little syrup. If it's the homemade sauce, just plop it on and spread a little.
I just inhaled a small stack of sourdough waffles topped with a little syrup and the leftover relish I made, and the tartness of the cranberry set off the super-sweet syrup perfectly.
* runs out *
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:15 AM on November 29, 2020 [2 favorites]
For an alternative, there's always the evergreen Mama Stamberg's Cranberry Relish recipe that NPR drags out every year. It looks terrible but tastes pretty great.
My first thought was that it doesn't just look (and sound) terrible, it really belongs in one of those mid-century horrorshow cookbooks where all the recipes have prawns and pineapple in aspic. And then I read the sidebar, and yep, it is from a 1959 recipe clipping.
I grew up with the homemade sauce and didn't ever try the canned stuff until my late teens or early twenties. I like both the simple homemade version (no nuts or other oddities, please) and the canned, but they barely seem like the same dish to me. The flavors are different enough that serving both makes sense.
posted by Dip Flash at 9:00 AM on November 29, 2020
My first thought was that it doesn't just look (and sound) terrible, it really belongs in one of those mid-century horrorshow cookbooks where all the recipes have prawns and pineapple in aspic. And then I read the sidebar, and yep, it is from a 1959 recipe clipping.
I grew up with the homemade sauce and didn't ever try the canned stuff until my late teens or early twenties. I like both the simple homemade version (no nuts or other oddities, please) and the canned, but they barely seem like the same dish to me. The flavors are different enough that serving both makes sense.
posted by Dip Flash at 9:00 AM on November 29, 2020
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This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
And then one day I finally had the canned jellied stuff and it was everything I dreamed of. Of course by that point I was older and I never had the heart to tell my old man.
posted by Literaryhero at 4:08 AM on November 26, 2020 [10 favorites]