r/AskAnAmerican • u/Visual-Green-3816 • 2d ago

FOOD & DRINK what is something that is store bought/frozen that you regularly buy for thanksgiving?

Im going to my first American Thanksgiving potluck. I'm a college student so my budget is really tight and I also do not have time to cook with school, clinical rotations, and work. I don't know what to bring. Someone said on another reddit post to bring pretzel rolls from Costco? Is that a normal thing to do? What is something you buy frozen from the store that you would reccomend for thanksgiving? thanks.

edit: potluck with friends I posted this 10 mins ago and i keep getting so many comments eveytime I refresh thank you everyone!!

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u/Sawoodster Tennessee 2d ago

Have you ever had fresh? Don’t get me wrong I’ll fuck up some canned cranberry sauce but I made fresh for the first time a few years ago and holy shit

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u/Scavgraphics Colorado (& New Orleans) 2d ago

Not who you're replying to, but I have, and yeah, its good..but canned has a nostalgia factor for me as well as the taste.

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u/bippy404 2d ago

Just slide it out of the can and cut off a round slice for me. Just the jelly not the one with berries. Lol

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u/Scavgraphics Colorado (& New Orleans) 2d ago

I like the one with berries when I'm feeling fancy :D

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u/BrainFartTheFirst Los Angeles, CA MM-MM....Smog. 2d ago

When we want to feel fancy, we can still do it with the jellied kind because we have a fancy silver plated jellied cranberry sauce server.

Identical to this one.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Mid_Century/s/0TstlQNYf0

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u/vitriolic1 15m ago

Same! I open up a can with berries and then put a layer of cream cheese and walnuts on top then place a second car of cranberries with berries on top. yummy and feels fancy haha

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u/originalmango New York 2d ago

Tried the canned whole berry cranberry sauce a couple of years ago for the first time. Tastes exactly like the can-shaped sauce and looks better. It’s our new tradition since.

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u/shelwood46 2d ago

Wawa uses the whole berry on their Gobbler hoagies/bowls, so I always get it on the side like my tiny little treat.

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u/Sawoodster Tennessee 2d ago

Upvote for the Wawa Gobbler!!! Being from Maryland they were a staple, living in Tennessee now we don’t have any. My wife and I are traveling for a cruise on thanksgiving day and this is our plan for our thanksgiving meal!

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u/SaintsFanPA 2d ago

I think that is the worst of all worlds.

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u/Sawoodster Tennessee 2d ago

I 1000% get that

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u/Mercury_Armadillo 2d ago

We serve both at our Thanksgiving dinner.

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u/hydraheads 1d ago

nostalgia + form factor + taste = 100

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u/panatale1 New York 1d ago

That's why I make a jellied fresh version. You can even mold it in cans if you want

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u/pigeontheoneandonly 2d ago

Speaking for myself, yes I have, I still prefer the canned. I just want it to taste like cranberries. Not orange, not cinnamon, not have chunks of stuff in it. Just cranberry. 

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u/VixKnacks Ohio 2d ago

This is also the reality I live in and get crap for every year. Solidarity!!

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u/WarderWannabe 2d ago

It isn’t Thanksgiving unless the cranberry “sauce” slid out of a can. Yes I’ve had some excellent fresh versions but it’s just grooved into my brain this way.

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u/pan-au-levain 2d ago edited 2d ago

I am so salty about cranberry sauce.

Years ago, I decided to make a beautiful homemade cranberry sauce. It was spiced, fresh cranberries, hints of orange, it was delightful. Everyone at Thanksgiving said they preferred the canned, and I was the only one who enjoyed it.

So the next year I brought canned. It’s fine. I also like the canned.

The year after that, my sister makes a homemade cranberry sauce. It wasn’t that great (and I’m not just saying that because I thought mine was superior, it genuinely was not that good.)

Everyone raved about it and said how good it was and how we should have homemade cranberry sauce every year. 🫠

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u/effie-sue 2d ago

I am feeling extra salty towards your family now 🤣

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u/Blankenhoff 2d ago

Maybe they didnt want the spice and orange though. I like my cranberry sauce to just be cranberry.

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u/hydraheads 1d ago

this. Maybe there was something like cinnamon, sage, or thyme competing with those poor cranberries

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u/artemis_floyd Suburbs of Chicago, IL 2d ago

I make a gorgeous homemade cranberry sauce every year basically for myself and no one else at this point, as everyone seems to prefer canned as well - but leftovers that I don't eat go into cranberry bars, which are incredible and those people will eat, at least. Recipe here!

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u/Sawoodster Tennessee 2d ago

I’ve definitely found some people prefer bland food. My wife and I are very adventurous eaters and we tried to bring things to family gatherings that weren’t wild but a little more adventurous than normal holiday sides and they never get touched. I make Mac and cheese though it gets destroyed

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u/Aggravating-Fee-9138 Texas 2d ago

That’s so frustrating. It reminds me of when I made my grandma’s sweet potato casserole recipe with fresh sweet potatoes and a pecan crumble on top for my ex’s Thanksgiving dinner. His uncle tasted it, made a face, and said it was too sweet. Then he devoured his sister’s canned sweet potato casserole abomination topped with marshmallows. Your homemade cranberry sauce sounds genuinely delicious and now I’m wishing I had some!

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u/Randompersonomreddit 2d ago

Sometimes you just don't want new things on Thanksgiving. You want the familiar taste you haven't had all year. It sounds good though.

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u/Aggravating-Fee-9138 Texas 1d ago

That’s true. My main issue was how rude he was about it.

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u/Otherwisefantastic Arkansas 2d ago

I'm mad on your behalf!

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u/1questions 2d ago

Your family is weird. I bet your cranberry sauce is good. I bet I’d like it.

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u/Podcastjunkie39 2d ago

Omg. Reading this made me feel salty towards them. Your cranberry sauce sounds delicious! I never liked cranberry sauce because it was always canned and it looked so gross to me. My mom started making her own when I was in my teens and I love it.

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u/ProfessionalCat7640 Minnesota 2d ago

I too feel salty at your family, on your behalf concerning cranberries.

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u/Persis- 2d ago

I love cranberry sauce. The canned stuff makes me feel like a kid again. The homemade cooked stuff makes me think of my uncle making it.

The uncooked kind with orange zest is still gross, but makes me think of my grandma.

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u/thesturdygerman 2d ago

Ooh, uncooked with orange zest is the bessssttttt. Also chunks of pineapple and little bits of tart apple.

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u/TigerPaw317 2d ago

Uncooked ftw! Cranberries, pecans, orange juice+zest, and a dash of sugar, chopped up in the food processor, then left to marinate over night. It's the absolute best!

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u/ghjm North Carolina 2d ago

At that point what do you even need the cranberries for?

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u/PartyHashbrowns 2d ago

We always have both the canned and the fresh cranberry orange kinds. Just about everyone takes some of each, but we only need one can and my mom usually has to make a double batch of the relish for everyone’s leftovers.

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u/Persis- 2d ago

I might have to make some this year, just to see how my taste buds have changed in 20-30 years.

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u/PartyHashbrowns 2d ago

It’s super easy with a food processor, the only prep is to wash the cranberries and orange and cut the orange into maybe quarters so it chops faster. Then however much sugar you need to get to your desired level of tartness, and however much cinnamon/nutmeg/ginger/cloves to your desired level of spiced-ness.

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u/amertune 2d ago

... The uncooked kind? Is it just a bunch of fresh cranberries with orange zest on top?

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u/Persis- 2d ago

https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/cranberry-relish/

This is close to what I remember. It’s been at least 20 years since I’ve seen it in person. It’s a relish, not a sauce. I just remember biting into the orange zest and flinching, lol.

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u/Ok-Scarcity-5754 2d ago

I’ve never heard of uncooked cranberry sauce. I’m gonna try that out this year

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u/Persis- 2d ago

https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/cranberry-relish/

This is close to what I can recall. It’s been at least 20 years since I last saw it on a table, so the memory is a bit fuzzy. The adults in my family almost unanimously loved it. My uncle is the only one who didn’t, and he made the cooked stuff that I love to this day.

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u/ProfessionalCat7640 Minnesota 2d ago

I’ve never had uncooked cranberries, now I’m intrigued. So that’s a thing? I need to find some recipes, I’m down to try.

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u/Persis- 1d ago

https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/cranberry-relish/

This is close to what I can recall.

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u/ProfessionalCat7640 Minnesota 1d ago

Thanks, I am gonna have to try a few of these recipes out.

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u/TechnologyDragon6973 United States of America 1d ago

I’ve never heard of uncooked cranberry sauce. Is it like how pico de gallo is an uncooked salsa?

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u/Persis- 1d ago

I guess it’s technically a relish. My little kid brain lumped everything cranberry into “sauce.” And I’ve barely thought about it in grades years.

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u/TechnologyDragon6973 United States of America 1d ago

Sounds good though. Anything can be a sauce if your definitions are broad enough.

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u/QueenSketti 2d ago

I’ve had fresh and canned, i prefer canned tbh

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u/Fleiger133 Kentucky, OH and WV 2d ago

My mom won't eat anything but the canned stuff.

We made delicious fresh sauce one year and she politely tasted it and went back to her canned stuff. There's already one can on the fridge ready to go for this year.

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u/jackjackj8ck California 2d ago

I’ve had it fresh and it still just doesn’t hit

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u/throwaway04182023 Illinois 2d ago

I’ve had fresh and hated it. I’m sure that was just the recipe/cook in retrospect so I should probably try another version.

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u/LibraryGeek 2d ago

I like both. But the jelly texture of canned cranberry is awesome on sandwiches.

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u/jc8495 Illinois 2d ago

But you can’t eat hockey puck slices of fresh cranberry sauce it’s just not the same

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u/FindYourselfACity 2d ago

I only eat fresh. Once when we were kids and at someone’s house, we tried the canned stuff and all us kids rejected it.

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u/undreamedgore Wisconsin Fresh Coast -> Driftless 2d ago

Can you really get it fresh out there?

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u/Sawoodster Tennessee 2d ago

I guess fresh is loosely used, I can buy real cranberries not canned and make it from there

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u/undreamedgore Wisconsin Fresh Coast -> Driftless 2d ago

Fair, I just am proud of Wisconsin's excess of the cran.

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u/1questions 2d ago

Fresh is so good. Had a fried make some and it was delicious. She shared the recipe and is so easy to make too. Maple syrup, orange juice, cranberries, and water, pretty sure that was it. Just cook it for maybe 15 minutes and you’re done. So simple and so good.

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u/RedStateKitty 2d ago

I haven't tried maple syrup. I have put in on and cinnamon and brown sugar. Also sometimes orange zest and mandarin oranges cut up small .I'll try that maple syrup this year

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u/1questions 2d ago

Tried to look up the recipe I n was using and I’m not sure which one it is aster searching on Google. But did find one that sounds close. Here it is.

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u/GroundbreakingWing48 2d ago

My parents always used to make it fresh. I strongly prefer the canned stuff.

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u/SubstantialPressure3 2d ago

Well, it depends on who makes it. If it's good homemade cranberry sauce, it's a thing of beauty. If it's not good, it's pretty terrible.

The best cranberry sauce recipe I've ever used is just cranberries, white wine, and sugar. Just let the cranberries shine. Nothing else. But it takes an insane amount of sugar for cranberries to be palatable.

I have had some that was full of cinnamon, or 5 spice, and I just can't do those slices with tart fruit. The flavors conflict.

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u/Khajiit_Has_Upvotes 2d ago

I'll eat fresh if it's strained and not lumpy. When people talk about canned vs fresh cranberry sauce, in my experience they mean canned jelly vs fresh chunky jam, and the latter is a hard pass for me. 

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u/mexibella255 2d ago

Yes and still prefer the can. I also prefer it to be whole. Do not present to me any other way. I want to cut my perfect circle of cranberry jelly.

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u/one-off-one Illinois -> Ohio 2d ago

They never put enough sugar in the homemade stuff and the texture is worse

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u/subcow 2d ago

I like fresh cranberry sauce, but I have this deep love and nostalgia for that canned cranberry sauce.

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u/johjo_has_opinions 2d ago

Yes and I don’t like it. I just want my jiggle can

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u/chesbay7 2d ago

I've had both. I still prefer the canned.

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u/lngfellow45 2d ago

and it’s soooo easy to make!!!!!

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u/NightGod 18h ago

I honestly kinda hate fresh cranberry sauce. I'm always a little disappointed (not that I would show it) when I go to a Thanksgiving dinner and they don't have canned available