The Cranberry Sauce Controversy (2024)

FAQs

What is the cranberry controversy? ›

Just before Thanksgiving in 1959, Americans were told that the cranberries they expected to serve with the holiday turkey might be contaminated by a chemical weed killer known to cause cancer in animals.

But why? Ocean Spray says this is to get the cranberry sauce out in one intact piece. “The rounded part of the can that looks like the bottom has an air bubble in it,” Ocean Spray's representative explains. The bubble is there so you can “break the seal the sauce makes with the can.”

The Pilgrims might have been familiar with cranberries by the first Thanksgiving, but they wouldn't have made sauces and relishes with the tart orbs. That's because the sacks of sugar that traveled across the Atlantic on the Mayflower were nearly or fully depleted by November 1621.

It's perfectly fine to serve up cranberry sauce — whole berry or jelled — straight out of the can. But in my experience, heating the canned sauce up takes its flavor to the next level. Plus, it becomes a little more aesthetically pleasing.

The cranberry scare of 1959 was the first food scare in the United States involving food additives to have a national impact. It was also the first event to test the Delaney clause, part of a 1958 amendment to the 1938 Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act prohibiting cancer-causing chemicals in food.

"Cranberries are safe to eat raw. However, usually they are cooked and have sugar added because of the bitter and sharp taste they have when raw," says Kelly West Keyser, a registered dietitian in Alabama.

The Europeans repaid their Native allies by seizing Native land and imprisoning, enslaving, and executing Native people. Following “Thanksgiving” celebrations by European settlers often marked brutal victories over Native people, like the Pequot Massacre of 1636 or the beheading of Wampanoag leader Metacom in 1676.

It is also worth noting what was not present at the first Thanksgiving feast. There were no cloudlike heaps of mashed potatoes, since white potatoes had not yet crossed over from South America. There was no gravy either, since the colonists didn't yet have mills to produce flour.

So, to the question “What did the Pilgrims eat for Thanksgiving,” the answer is both surprising and expected. Turkey (probably), venison, seafood, and all of the vegetables that they had planted and harvested that year—onions, carrots, beans, spinach, lettuce, and other greens.

While there are some editors who prefer homemade cranberry sauce, the canned variety also has quite a following. "There's something so beautifully perfect about the texture of canned cranberry sauce, and none of those homemade mess will ever compete," says Senior Digital Food Editor Kimberly Holland.

What does cranberry sauce do for your body? ›

Packed with antioxidants

Cranberries are well known for being rich in antioxidants. One study found that among 20 common fruits, cranberries have the highest level of phenols, a type of antioxidant. The anthocyanins found in cranberries may have anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory effects.

To help offset some tartness in the fruit, both the Native Americans and pilgrims used maple, honey and other natural sweeteners to make the cranberries more palatable. According to Wick, the tart fruit became popularly used to create cranberry sauce for turkey and other types of meat in the late 17th century.

In linguistic morphology a cranberry morpheme (also called unique morpheme or fossilized term) is a type of bound morpheme that cannot be assigned an independent meaning and grammatical function, but nonetheless serves to distinguish one word from another.

O'Riordan died from drowning due to alcohol intoxication in January 2018. After her death, the Cranberries released the Grammy-nominated album In the End (2019), featuring her final vocal recordings, and subsequently disbanded.

The Cranberries front woman Dolores O'Riordan died by drowning due to alcohol intoxication, an inquest at Westminster Coroner's Court has heard. The singer, who died suddenly on 15 January aged 46, was found submerged in the bath in her room at London's Park Lane Hilton hotel.

While vacationing at their aunt's farm, three children learn of the disappearance over 90 years before of priceless books. They race to unravel the mystery before the books are found by thieves who also are looking for them. The story is set in the Okanagen Valley of British Columbia.