Here’s a topic of discussion that turns up every year at Thanksgiving. Do you and your family eat cranberry jelly with turkey? If so, do you buy it in the can?
If so – this is the real question – do you slip it from the can so that it’s displayed in the shape of the can when you put it on the table, or do you mash it up to disguise the fact that it came from a can?
Cranberry jelly holds the shape of the can really well – the can acts like a jelly mold. It looks kind of funny that way, but I’ve known people who put it on the table like that, who in fact took great pride in unmolding it perfectly from the can. We always mash it up, so it looks like someone made it, which is funny in a different way.
What do you do?
Deborah Cooke: Author 
7 responses to “The Cranberry Debate”
I always have cranberries with turkey but that’s the only constant. Sometimes it’s from a can clean. Sometimes smashed. Sometimes it’s homemade. Sometimes it has whole cranberries in it. Sometimes not.
So glad I could add clarity to this discussion. 😉
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I never thought of smashing it up. (Of course, I never knew anyone actually made their own, either.)
It’s a time honored tradition in my family to carefully cut open both ends of the can and ease the stuff out in one piece.
Then we slice it up.
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Now you have me wondering how we do it. I’ve never really noticed since I don’t eat it.
There have been times that two cranberries have hit the table– firm one and the berry one.
This might drive me batty today trying to figure out if Mom and Mums leave it whole or slice it or let the mad dust bunnies do with it as they will.
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Oh, I forgot about slicing the jelly from the can, and getting little medallions. Of course, we can’t do that since we mash it up.
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A very serious family tradition has been handed down from my husband: jellied cranberry from a can, removed cleanly so that the ridges from the can are displayed. It goes to the table intact, then is sliced on the ridge lines.
All of which is hilarious because I swear no one eats the stuff. However, it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without that damned cranberry can-thing on the table.
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We used to eat the canned stuff and smash it up. Now I make cranberry sauce from a Canadian Living Recipe. Way more yummy 🙂
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I just love, LA, that the cranberry has to be there even though no one eats it. Traditions are so funny that way.
Teresa, I think I had that CL recipe once. It was good. I tried the one on the package this year and it was less good. Maybe you can send the CL one to me sometime.
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