So, how do you feel about cranberry sauce?
Love it or hate it, there’s no denying that – next to giant roast turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans and pumpkin pie – there isn’t a more iconic Thanksgiving dish than that distinct, rose-colored sweet and tart side. In fact, we eat more than 400 million pounds of cranberries each year—20 percent of that happening on the fourth Thursday of November alone.
While traditional cranberry sauce didn’t become popular until the 19th century, it was likely served in some form during the first Thanksgiving in 1621. As one of the only commercially-grown fruits native to the U.S., cranberries were a staple of Native American diets and were even used as a natural dye for clothing. It wasn’t until sugar became commercially available in the mid-to-late 17th century, though, that cranberry sauce as we now know it first emerged.
The first true acknowledgment of a recorded cranberry sauce recipe is from American Cookery, a 1796 cookbook by Amelia Simmons, which includes an encouragement to serve roast turkey with a side of “boiled onions and cranberry sauce.”
Traditionally, cranberries could only be harvested by hand – a difficult and time-consuming process. In the early 1900s, however, Ocean Spray, an agricultural cooperative from Plymouth County, Massachusetts, developed an innovative new way to get the job done. Known as “wet harvesting,” workers would now only need for the cranberries to float to the surface of a flooded bog to scoop and store them. Eventually, Ocean Spray began canning and selling cranberry sauce, and a Thanksgiving tradition emerged.
No matter your feelings on cranberry sauce – and, despite its iconic status, it’s a pretty divisive dish – there’s one thing we can all agree on. Nothing beats freshly made. The flavor is bigger, better and bolder. It smells great. And it’s made just to your liking.
For over 20 years, Continental Title Company has provided the “freshest” title and closing services across the Kansas City and St. Louis markets. We ensure all of the ingredients we use are just right – a caring and compassionate team, cutting-edge technology and convenient, hassle-free processes – to provide nothing but the best experience for every buyer, seller, Realtor and loan officer we serve.
Contact us, and let’s discuss your next transaction whenever you’re ready. Until then, we hope you have a fun, safe and delicious Thanksgiving (with or without a big heaping side of cranberry sauce)!