×
  • Home
  • Daily
    • Buyers Guides
    • Composting
    • Container Gardening
    • Easy Healthy Recipes
    • Food Preservation
    • Garden Design
    • Garden Tools
    • Gardening LIfe
      • Animals in the Garden
      • Funny Business
      • Gardening History
      • Gardening Humor
      • Gardening Mishaps
      • Gardening Poems
      • Gardening Romance
      • Gardening Science
      • Gardening with Kids
      • Healing Gardens
      • Joy of Gardening
      • Mystical Gardens
      • Ornamental Gardening
    • Growing Fruits & Berries
    • Indoor Gardening
    • Pests & Diseases
    • Seeds & Seedlings
    • Soil & Fertilizer
    • Spice & Herb Gardening
    • Vegetable Gardening
    • Watering & Irrigation
  • Freebies
  • Videos
  • Magazines
    • Food Gardening Magazine
    • GreenPrints Magazine
    • RecipeLion Magazine
  • Books
    • GuideBooks
    • Cookbooks
      • Beverages
      • Bakery
      • Breakfast
      • Appetizers
      • Salads & Dressings
      • Soups
      • Entrées
      • Side Dishes & Sauces
      • Desserts
    • Story Collections
    • StoryBooks
    • Recipe Collections
  • Kits
    • Garden Calendars
    • Garden Plans
    • Recipe Cards
    • Greeting Cards
    • ArtPrints
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Affiliate Program
  • Sponsor Program
  • Give a Gift
  • Privacy Policy & Terms of Use
  • Authors
  • GreenPrints Writer’s Guidelines
  • Keyword Index
  • Join
Celebrating 5 Years of Food Gardening

Food Gardening Network

Growing food, fun & more

Give a GiftJoin
Mequoda Publishing Network
  • Daily
    • Buyers Guides
    • Composting
    • Container Gardening
    • Easy Healthy Recipes
    • Food Preservation
    • Garden Design
    • Garden Tools
    • Gardening Life
      • Animals in the Garden
      • Funny Business
      • Gardening History
      • Gardening Humor
      • Gardening Mishaps
      • Gardening Poems
      • Gardening Romance
      • Gardening Science
      • Gardening with Kids
      • Healing Gardens
      • Joy of Gardening
      • Mystical Gardens
      • Ornamental Gardening
    • Growing Fruits & Berries
    • Indoor Gardening
    • Pests & Diseases
    • Seeds & Seedlings
    • Soil & Fertilizer
    • Spice & Herb Gardening
    • Vegetable Gardening
    • Watering & Irrigation
  • Freebies
  • Videos
  • Magazines
    • Food Gardening Magazine
    • GreenPrints Magazine
    • RecipeLion Magazine
  • Books
    • GuideBooks
    • Cookbooks
      • Beverages
      • Bakery
      • Breakfast
      • Appetizers
      • Salads & Dressings
      • Soups
      • Entrées
      • Side Dishes & Sauces
      • Desserts
    • Story Collections
    • StoryBooks
    • Recipe Collections
  • Kits
    • Garden Calendars
    • Garden Plans
    • Recipe Cards
    • Greeting Cards
    • ArtPrints
  • Sign In
  • Search

Our Annual Thanksgiving Cranberry Feud

Our Annual Thanksgiving Cranberry Feud

Cranberries, cranberries, and more cranberries

By Don Nicholas | November 23, 2023

Cranberry warhol

Ah, the Thanksgiving when I discovered Ocean Spray cranberry jelly – it was a revelation that shook the very foundations of our family dinner table traditions. You see, Thanksgiving in our household was a serious affair, and cranberries held a place of honor right alongside the turkey.

My father, the self-proclaimed gardening maestro and culinary wizard, was the mastermind behind our annual cranberry and orange dish with walnuts. It was like a fruity symphony of flavors, and even as a young child, it looked suspiciously like dessert to me. But hey, who was I to argue? If there’s one day when you can load up your plate with dessert-like side dishes, it’s Thanksgiving!

Then, when I was five years old, my sister – who is old enough to be my mother, but we won’t dwell on that – managed to persuade our parents to let her take the reins and host Thanksgiving dinner at her new home with her husband Dale. My dad, ever the cranberry aficionado, brought his cranberry orange masterpiece and his famous cornbread dressing. Little did we know that this Thanksgiving would introduce a wild card into our cranberry equation – Ocean Spray cranberry jelly.

Discover 10 top tips for growing, harvesting, and enjoying fruits, vegetables, herbs and more from your home garden—when you access the FREEBIE How to Grow a Vegetable Garden, right now!

In addition to the usual suspects like turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, fresh bread, and a dessert lineup that could give a pastry chef an inferiority complex, my sister proudly plopped a can of Ocean Spray cranberry jelly onto the table. To say that my father was taken aback would be an understatement. The man who had passionately grown his own cranberries was now faced with the arch-nemesis of his culinary world – canned cranberry jelly.

With the innocence and candor only a five-year-old can muster, I declared that I liked the jelly better than the orange-cranberry mixture. The table fell silent, as if I’d just committed a gastronomic coup d’état. My parents exchanged incredulous glances, and my sister sported a triumphant grin. Dale, a Nebraska farm boy, jumped to my defense, proudly proclaiming his allegiance to the canned jelly. You could practically hear the record scratch.

From that moment on, our Thanksgiving dinners became battlegrounds in the cranberry wars. Both cranberry dishes secured their positions on the table, and each year, the family would engage in a heated but good-natured debate about which was superior. My dad, the cranberry purist, couldn’t quite fathom how anyone could prefer the canned stuff. He’d tease Dale about his questionable cranberry loyalties, and Dale would retaliate with jokes about my dad’s cranberry vines.

Life took me on a journey from my childhood in Sacramento to Plymouth, Massachusetts, where I now reside, surrounded by cranberry bogs and family farms. It’s like I was destined to be in cranberry country. So, when our executive editor suggested we create a Garden Guide on Cranberries, I was all in. If you haven’t read it yet, you’ll discover that the history of cranberries is as fascinating as the annual cranberry debates at our Thanksgiving table. And, of course, we’ve included some fantastic cranberry recipes that might just make their way onto your Thanksgiving menu.

As the years roll on, all of us here at Food Gardening Network wish you the happiest of Thanksgiving holidays. We hope our guides and recipes help make this Thanksgiving the best one yet for you and your family. And if you have your own cranberry stories to share, please do – because nothing brings a family together like a good old-fashioned cranberry feud!

Happy gardening, and happy eating!

« Unconventional Thanksgiving Traditions
When Healing Gardens Heal the Soul »

Related Posts

  • Growing Serrano Peppers: Spicy Rewards and Fiery Challenges
  • Cherokee Purple Tomatoes: A Gardener’s Delight with a Hint of Mystery
  • Banana Peppers: A Love Story Between a Gardener, a Sandwich, and a Surprisingly Prolific Plant

Tags

cranberries, food gardening, food gardening network

Comments
  • JoAnne November 25, 2023

    Homemade cranberry sauce is the only way to go. It’s so easy, fast and delicious.
    Before I discovered this truism, I would open a can of Ocean Spray, plop it in a dish, put it on the table. No one touched it.
    Fresh cranberry orange sauce is good with almost everything, including right off the spoon.

    Reply
  • Gardener F. November 23, 2023

    I love cranberries

    Reply
  • Eliza O. November 23, 2023

    Fascinating! I like the home made cranberry sauce. I am even more fascinated on how her father grew cranberries.

    Reply

Click here to cancel reply.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Give a Gift

FREEBIE!

With your FREEBIE, you’ll also receive regular email messages from the Food Gardening Network. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Your email address is private. We promise never to sell, rent or disclose your email address to third parties.

Freebies

  • Worst Best Gardening Jokes Calendar
  • 5 Easy Healthy Carrot Recipes
  • 5 Easy Healthy Lemon Recipes
  • 5 Easy Healthy Salsa Recipes
  • 5 Easy Healthy Apple Recipes
  • 5 Easy Healthy Chicken Breast Recipes
  • Top 11 Food Gardening Tools You Need to Succeed
  • A Printable Companion Planting Chart
  • Plants for Bug Control Chart
  • Printable Seed Germination Temperature Chart
  • Printable Tomato Garden-to-Table Chart
  • Planning Your Perfect Food Garden
  • Printable Butterfly Garden Planting Chart
  • The Best Way to Grow Tomatoes
  • Printable Composting 101 Charts
  • How to Master Spice and Herb Gardening at Home
  • Printable Monthly Gardening Calendar
  • 10 Best Garden Poems of All Time
  • Vegetable Garden Planting Chart Freebie
  • Printable Flower Garden Companion Planting Chart
  • 10 Things You Can Grow That Your Pet Will LOVE To Eat!
  • Rose Garden Planting Chart Freebie
  • Printable Kitchen Garden Planting Charts
  • Sunflower Garden Planting Chart Freebie
  • Seasonal ArtPrints Collection Kit Sampler
  • Sampler: Gardening Humor
  • Sampler: Wit, Wisdom, & Learning
  • Gardening in Every Season
  • How to Start a Freedom Garden
  • Recipes from Your Garden
  • Sampler: Animals in the Garden
  • Sampler: Healing Gardens
  • Sampler: Joy of Gardening
  • Growing Vegetables Indoors for Beginners
  • 15 Easiest Fruits to Grow at Home
  • How to Grow a Vegetable Garden

Browse Topics

  • Buyers Guides
  • Composting
  • Container Gardening
  • Easy Healthy Recipes
  • Food Preservation
  • Garden Design
  • Garden Tools
  • Gardening Life
  • Growing Fruits & Berries
  • Indoor Gardening
  • Ornamental Gardening
  • Pests & Diseases
  • Seeds & Seedlings
  • Soil & Fertilizer
  • Spice & Herb Gardening
  • Uncategorized
  • Vegetable Gardening
  • Watering & Irrigation

Buyers Guides:

  • 9 Automated Garden Tools for Effortless Growing
  • 12 Cool Gardening Tools and Gifts for the Plant Lover in Your Life
  • Choosing the Best Shovel for Your Gardening Needs
  • 10 Gardening Tools for Seniors That Actually Make a Difference
  • This Countertop Compost Machine Turns Scraps into Compost in a Few Hours
  • 10+ Food Gardening Gadgets We Love
  • 15 Adaptive and Accessible Gardening Tools and Raised Beds
  • 13 Canning Tools, Supplies & Equipment You Need
  • The 3 Best Gardening Shoes
  • 5+ Best Bird Deterrents for Gardens
  • Shop Our Amazon Store

Authors:

  • Bill Dugan
  • Amanda MacArthur
  • Mike McGrath
  • Don Nicholas
  • Norann Oleson
  • Christy Page
  • Becky Rupp
  • Beth Rush
  • Pat Stone
  • Diana Wells

Enter Your Log In Credentials

This setting should only be used on your home or work computer.

  • Lost your password? Create New Password
  • No account? Sign up

Need Assistance?

Call Food Gardening Network Customer Service at
(800) 777-2658

Food Gardening Network is an active member of the following industry associations:

  • American Horticultural Society
  • GardenComm Logo
  • GardenComm Laurel Media Award
  • MCMA logo
  • Join Now
  • Learn More
  • About Food Gardening Network
  • Contact Us
  • Affiliate Program
  • Sponsor Program
  • Give a Gift
  • Privacy Policy & Terms of Use

Food Gardening Network
99 Derby Street, Suite 200
Hingham, MA 02043
support@foodgardening.mequoda.com

To learn more about our Email Marketing and Broadcasting Services, Exchange Program, or to become a marketing partner with any of our publications, click here to contact us at Mequoda Publishing Network.

FREE E-Newsletter for You!

Discover how to grow, harvest, and eat good food from your own garden—with our FREE e-newsletter, delivered directly to your email inbox.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Powered by
Mequoda Publishing Network
copyright © 2025 Mequoda Systems, LLC

Food Gardening Network®, Food Gardening Magazine® and GreenPrints® are registered trademarks of Mequoda Systems, LLC.

Go to mobile version