The Best Store-Bought Cranberry Sauce
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.ย. 2024
- Tasting expert Jack Bishop challenges Bridget and Julia to a tasting of cranberry sauce.
Read our full Cranberry Sauce review: cooks.io/3fEOsCR
Buy our winning jellied sauce: cooks.io/3M9UE23
Buy our winning whole-berry sauce: cooks.io/3fM67bR
Get our Simple Cranberry Sauce recipe: cooks.io/3RT2UVr
Get our Jellied Cranberry Sauce recipe: cooks.io/3fHEkJy
Browse our latest recipes: cooks.io/3f0Hdoo
ABOUT US: Located in Boston’s Seaport District in the historic Innovation and Design Building, America's Test Kitchen features 15,000 square feet of kitchen space including multiple photography and video studios. It is the home of Cook’s Illustrated magazine and Cook’s Country magazine and is the workday destination for more than 60 test cooks, editors, and cookware specialists. Our mission is to test recipes over and over again until we understand how and why they work and until we arrive at the best version.
If you like us, follow us:
americastestkit...
/ americastestkitchen
/ testkitchen
/ testkitchen
/ testkitchen
I guess I’ll never get over the childhood memories of canned Oceanspray. I’ve always been silently disappointed, when invited to Thanksgiving dinner, to find that the host has made their own sauce. So when it’s been my turn, I’ve asked a guest to bring the one they make (they are always delighted), & have Oceanspray for me, to cover all the bases. This year I will also get New England as well. Thanks for the taste test!
I always take a can of Ocean Spray to take with me, as well as a can of Le Seur Very Early Peas to mix into my mashed potatoes. A turkey dinner is not complete for me without those two things.
💯 agree. Dress up the green beans. Leave the cranberry sauce alone!
I agree. I can enjoy the homemade for what it is and know that's it's probably "better", but canned is my favorite anyway and Thanksgiving feels lacking without it.
YES!!! I wasted precious moments of my youth trying to smile my way through Gramma's/Aunt's/Other Relative's 'magical' homemade sauce when what I wanted was cranberry sauce in a can. And why did those loved ones ALWAYS add OJ??
So Grandma, who was normally a fanatic when it came to homemade food normally, would always serve the Oceanspray and would jokingly say, "Well I opened the can at home, so it's 'homemade' " lol 😆
Grew up on Ocean Spray jelly, and even though I'm literally the only person in my family who will eat it, I insist on having a can available every Thanksgiving.
I'm by several cans to have for use throughout the year. We like it with other poultry like chicken, duck and pheasant.
I preferred the "OLD" cans; remove one end, cut the other and use it to push, or "extrude" the jelly out of the can. Neat ans SIMPLE!
I agree. I was raised on the Ocean Spray Jellied. Too old to change now. Thanks to the three of you.❤
I loved this one. When I want to be a grown up, I'll eat a whole berry relish, however, being the man-child I am, I'll take Oceanspray over anything else every single time. Thanks! This was fun!
I love the Ocean Spray jellied. It’s just not Thanksgiving without it. Plus I make the homemade relish.
I don't even want to eat if we don't have any 🤣
Same! My family does both. Jellied cranberry pairs really well with Turkey whereas a fresh relish acts as a great palette cleanser for the whole meal.
Ocean Spray jellied cranberry sauce and stuffing is my favorite thing at Thanksgiving. I did not know the reason for the can being upside down. 🙃 So cool!
Right agreed 😊
Julia's expression at 1:03 It was absolutely terrific, made by day. It was wonderful! I just laughed out loud!
Yes! Ocean spray #1 with out the berries ❤️
Ocean Spray, all day.
Ocean Spray jellied for me. Still brings a smile to my face to slide it out and use the rings for slicing. There is always a can saved for the left overs for a smacking good sandwhich. Now, home made gravy is my 40 year project to perfect.
I still love the Ocean Spray always!!!
Have you read the ingredients? Do you know what "natural flavor" is or where it comes from?
@@angelbulldog4934 Why do you care what other people eat? Did she ask you for nutritional advice?
@@hanshi3831 Then eat aborted fetal kidney cells. Be a cannibal. You choice. Same for me.
@@angelbulldog4934: What is it, urine?
@@ginawiggles918 Read my comment just above, pls
Ocean spray jellied my go to, I was raised on it.
Love LOVE that both Bridget and Julia are in this segment. More of that please!!!
Watching these three causes awesome flashbacks to watching ATC on KQED channel 9 on Saturday mornings after breakfast with my mom, lol
Ocean Spray jellied is what I buy and love.
But when I have been invited to someone’s house and they have made whole cranberry sauce it’s been very good.
I like the canned slab in the shape of the can!
I make my own sauce with Ocean Spray 's bagged cranberries because it's about the easiest thing in the world to make from scratch. That said, I do love Ocean Spray's jellied cranberry sauce because it's a great spread on whole wheat toast, especially with cream cheese.
Nothing like slicing off a slab of jellied cranberries. I serve mine unmixed I find the can shape adds to the appeal.
For years I would have the ocean spray jellied but one day I decided to make fresh because it sounded easy to make. I like making it fresh better with whole cranberries.😋
You can stock up and freeze the berries now, and they keep for months in the freezer. It's nice to whip a fresh batch in march on a random Sunday dinner when you roast a whole chicken...yum...
Exact same. And it’s fun watching the cranberries pop.
At first, I thought “why not follow the recipe off the bag of fresh ones…haven’t bought the cans again”. The price for a can in SE Tx is 1.76, while a 2lb bag is 3.48 and we have sugar and water…so, voila. The jellied type tastes like the tin and they can’t do anything about that due to the berries’ acidity. I always make more just for the next day for the leftovers, and nobody has a problem with that.
Ocean Spray's Cranberry Sauce is THE BEST, Period!!
It might not be fancy, but the ocean spray is so yummy!
I worked 31 years in grocery retail.. and Ocean Spray jellied out sold the whole and all other brands about 20 to one.. By far the most popular for most people.. So you aren't alone.. Even though the store brands were packaged by Ocean Spray, just using the company's own label, cheaper by not paying for the name.. Ocean Spray still outsold it for every Thanksgiving and Christmas..
Was always my favorite too..
I'd like to see Jack's recipe that uses the Grand Marnier in his cranberry sauce.
When I feel like some Grand Marnier.....I top off my Margarita with a healthy splash of it. 😉
@@ginawiggles918 Me too. I use Cuervo silver 1800, GM and Simply limeade in mine. So good.
I did that one year, it was way too strong. The next year I tried whiskey, that was also too strong, I only used a splash of each, I didn't overdue it. Let the cranberries be the star.
#TeamOceanSpray all the way! My fave for the past 72 years!
I cook everything from scratch on thanksgiving, make gravy, bake the pie... but I Need that jelly can. The slices, the ridges, it's perfection.
Any fresh pie at my store is $15! I couldn’t find the frozen ones (and I shopped on Sunday before Thanksgiving). Making pumpkin pie is so easy as well as the others, and I also make the crust off Allrecipes (they have one that is perfect - no ice cubes and tastes so fresh).
I realized this is probably in atrocity to half of you I don't know if it's childhood nostalgia or what. But honestly thanksgiving just isn't thanksgiving unless I can slice my cranberry into can shape rings. I like that little too sweet, I like that it has no definition and it even has a little bit of a canned taste. It just makes me happy. Granted I was also the kind of poor growing that not everybody understands. Sometimes that cranberry y sauce was a delicious dinner
If you don’t wanna fork over $8 for a Yankee Whole Berry Cranberry Compote, buy the Ocean Spray Whole Berry for less than $2. I don’t even know how they didn’t have this as one of the choices.
I enjoy Ocean Spray jellied and whole berries.
They did their actual taste tests with dozens of brands, and just selected four for the TV spot.
I go with Ocean Spray every time, unless I make my own. Here in New England, it's the only real choice.
Those minor brands really aren't available out west. So, looks like Ocean Spray by default, which is reliable, but you missed out on Trader Joe's cranberry sauce, a seasonal product which I think is excellent.
Same same. Either are also ::chef’s kiss:: on cold turkey sandwiches the next few days.
Does TJ's cranberry have the "slicing guides" on it? 😋
@@ginawiggles918 Noooooo, it’s more like a chutney consistency - you have to spoon it out of the jar.
Grew up in New England and came back several times, and I’m still here. There’s nothing like the day after Thanksgiving with two pieces of yummy whole wheat bread, Cain’s mayonnaise, dark meat turkey, my grandmother’s stuffing recipe and OceanSpray to make the holiday complete! I always had to take a spoonful of my mother’s cranberry relish as to not hurt her feelings!
I love the ocean spray. Old tastes & habits are hard to change
It says right on the Ocean Spray can: "Only for use on leftover turkey sandwiches."
Not on my leftover turkey sandwich. It's turkey and mayo on sourdough. Very basic, but something that I'm waiting for (there's something to be said for the day after Thanksgiving!).
Nailed it.
Getting a craving for lingonberry jam after watching this for some reason
I've never seen that New England cranberry sauce before, but then I always make my own cranberry sauce. I like to cut the sugar content in half of the recommended amount which leaves the sauce quite tart but still enjoyable.
When I was a child, my job at Thanksgiving was grinding fresh cranberries (and orange) for relish.. My mom never sweetened it so it was not my favorite. Once I learned about Ocean Spray canned jellied cranberries, we had a winner and so convenient. If I were to make my mom's cranberry relish, I would cook it for a bit and certainly add sugar.
My dad always talked about his mom’s cranberry relish that sounds just like your mom’s, without sugar as well. How much cranberries per oranges do you use?
@@marcilk7534 Oh, your poor dad. I don't know if you've ever seen those old-fashioned manual metal grinders that you screw onto the kitchen table but that's what I used to grind one bag of fresh cranberries and one (two if they were small) peeled orange. Gosh, I'm feeling nostalgic. Maybe I can find that type of grinder at an estate sale and make it again (or not).
@@carrieannmcleod5219 My parents probably still have one of those. They used it to grind food into baby food when my son was a baby. Thanks for the instructions. He keeps saying it’s the only cranberry sauce/relish he likes.
Oh that sass!!!! That was a genuine out loud laugh and was perfect!
I cackled when Bridget sideways-looked at Jack and said 'if we had been invited"
I've used the whole berry sauce as a substitute for Lingonberry jam. It works. They have a similar taste.
I love these new tasting panels with both Julia and Bridget. It's more fun.
Growing up, my Mom made EVERYTHING from scratch. Cranberrysauce, stuffing, gravy, potatoes, pumpkin pies, everything. For the stuffing, I remember tearing up slices of white bread to let them get stale overnight. The cranberries were from fresh berries, boiled for about an hour, strained through a collender, don't forget the sugar. That happened once. The turkey was about a 27 lb. bird that started abou 6 am. My dad liked his turkey done. We ate about 4 pm. I never knew turkey could be moist until I had it at a friends house. But I digress. My Mom "discovered" Oceanspray canned cranberry sauce, StoveTop stuffing mix, Hunts Turkey Gravy, Mrs. Smith's Pumpkin Pies. Thanksgiving was never the same. That is for us kids and Dad, everything was just still perfect. For my Mom, Thanksgiving went from a 13 hour cooking marathon, to a 4 hour leisurely jog.
P.S. I still like Oceanspray cranberry sauce as its own sidedish anytime of the year.
My husband prefers Ocean Spray vs my homemade cranberry sauce.😬 now I just open a can of Ocean Spray👍
Making homemade cranberry sauce is so easy, but in a pinch, I still love Ocean Spray.
I eat my cranberry jelly on sandwiches since it spreads -- especially with turkey, bacon, and pea shoots. What I really love about Ocean Spray jelly is you can buy it in a smaller can. Since I only use 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, small is good.
I haven't been able to find the small cans of cranberry jelly for a few years now. I MISS that handy size.
I love the Ocean Spray canned jellied cranberry sauce. It’s what was served when I was a kid so I think part of my preference is sentimental and part is the taste preference. I also like seeing the ridges on the side of the jellied sauce. And it tastes great on turkey sandwiches the next day.
I was born in '62 and we have been using the Ocean Spray for as long as I can remember
Ocean spray jellied all the way!
I guess I’m basic, it’s always Ocean Spray canned for me😊
FUN SHOW! My whole family likes the Oceanspray, but as a child we had canned and home made.
It is so easy to make though, it is something I make "out of season" just to surprise people and (Honestly fairly often) make them realise they like cranberry sauce. My addition is hard pear cider. This means I can add less sugar. The only other addition I use is orange juice. Pop in a whole bag of fresh cranberries (6 oz) 3 ounces pear cider, 4 ounces of OJ and sugar until it is as jammy as you want.
Ocean Spray! I love the taste, texture and the shape of it. I can't eat the loose jellied homemade brands. I usually make everything from scratch, but when it comes to Ocean Spray's round sliced disks that look so neat and symmetrical on my plate, I have to opt for nostalgia everytime.
You guys have great affinity together. That was fun to watch.
I did a project last year where I canned organic cranberries for gifts. By FAR the preferred version had cranberries, pinot noir, and sugar. People were indifferent to the orange peel and gingerroot versions and disliked the port and the Grand Marnier versions as well. The simplest one was agreed upon as the tastiest with turkey. Who knew?
Interesting! I get fairly creative with cranberries adding citrus zest, juice, brown and white sugar, whatever sounds good to me at the time. My thing this year is adding finely minced Serrano chilies! At least 2 and it's very good!
@@desertfox3860 Well, you have to factor in the preferences of the gift recipients...likely my group are .... purists? Or just fussy?
Worked many holiday seasons at a grocery store, and the cranberry cans were always the bane of our existence. Try building tall and attractive displays when the cans are all upside down 😂
I grew up when all the was, was jellied in a can or relish in a can. People either liked it or hated it. I loved it. Still do. I like home made too, and since it's cheaper that's the way I go. But it's all good.
I love Ocean Spray jelled sauce and will never change lol
I wish you guys would start testing store brands against national brands. The store brands can be just as good as the national brands and sometimes, even better, at much less cost.
@@sandrah7512 Most store brands are produced by the same processors as national brands. The producers manufacture or process to the specific 'recipe.' Do store brands differ? Yes tgey can but many times they are as good or better than the name brand but cost significantly less.
@@sandrah7512 Kroger is the big player who continues to absorb grocery chains. Their private label requirements seem to be the same regardless of chain. Even if some store brands are more regional than national should not exclude testing. In this age of deliberately caused high inflation, it is more necessary than ever for people to discover alternatives. I have tested different mayos. I haven't found a store brand that I like but Walmart's equivalent to Pace salsa is just as good at half the price. It doesn't hurt to have private label grocery brands tested. Many times ATK has tested very high priced food items that are not available nationally so why not store brands? Food shouldn't be elitist.
My best friend makes ATK's chutney cranberries each year. Everyone loves them!
I always make my own cranberry sauce. I love the texture of the berries rather than the jelly. When I make the sauce I use 1/2 the amount of water and add 1/2 orange juice. The OJ adds plenty of flavour, but still keeps the cranberry sauce tart.
Ocean Spray Cranberry Jelly is my jam. I eat it throughout the year with roasted chicken and roasted turkey. It amazing!
When you have a guest from outside the USA attending Thanksgiving for the first time, you have to do canned Ocean Spray! 🙂 🦃🥧
Canadians like homemade cranberry sauce!!!
@@kerrylynnparsons9441 I need to invite a Canadian to Thanksgiving and ask them to bring some 🙂
@@virginiathornton There is nothing better than homemade cranberry sauce with whole berries in the bag--UNLESS it’s toasted turkey sandwiches with homemade cranberry sauce from leftovers!!! And very little sugar--no sugar--use Stevia or Erithrytol as a sweetener. YUMMY!!!
I ❤ Julia's personality!
Loved how much discussion there was in this, thank you
i normally buy the can stuff and then add a bit of orange juice and cook it again. nobody else eats it with the turkey aside from me so i can do whatever crazy stuff with it during the dinner
Try just a pinch of orange zest instead...
Thank me later.
@@mainelybuds8543 oh I do that too, just forgot to mention it. i've also added nutmeg last year, lemme just say it was a acquired taste. got that recipe from some history channel on youtube 😁
I have been making my cranberries from scratch for years. I’ve had three of these selections and don’t have a reason to try the 4th one. Keep up the good episodes
Love the jellied ocean spray. Grew up on it. My mom would make the homemade sauce too.
I came across a recipe years ago for a cranberry-grape relish and I've been making it ever since. The sweet grapes play against the tart cranberries perfectly, it's a delicious balance.
Cranberry sauce has to be one of the easiest things to make at home.
Maybe you can make cranberry sauce at home.....but it won't have the *RINGS* on it! 🤪
@@ginawiggles918 Well you could always buy the Ocean Spray, wash out the can, save it, makes the next batch and pour it into the saved can until set. Voila, homemade cranberry sauce with rings
@@maryoleary2037: Mary O'Leary you are a genius! 😄
Sauce yes. Jelly? Nope. That’s beyond most home cooks.
@@maryoleary2037 That’s not a jelly. Most home cooks don’t know how to make jelly. And unless you are making several batches, it’s not worth the effort.
Poke a hole in the opposite end of the Ocean spray can after you open the top and then the cylinder will slide right out
Cranberry jelly. Only way to eat it
Too funny. "Well we might have known had we ever been invited." LOL
Nothing will ever surpass Oceanspray Jellied in the can. It even had lines to slice by. LOL. I hate foofoo cranberry sauce, especially when they put orange zest in it. Blech. (And who puts cinnamon in cranberry sauce Harry and David??? Good grief!)
Thanks for always giving insights into good products! It's usually a good suggestion too! very reliable!
My mother made homemade cranberry relish, bless her heart! We hated it! I like whole berry jellied sauce, no orange. Kroger even has an organic whole berry jelly now. It's delish!
I like Ocean spray jellies. But, Trader Joe’s make a wonderful cranberry sauce.
Mom always fixed cranberry salad. Wash and sort berries. Chop cranberries in processor. Peel and cut oranges, add to cranberries. Chop walnuts OR pecans and add to cranberries. Add about 2 cups sugar. Add miniature marshmallows 1 hour before serving cold.
My wife has been making cranberry sauce now for years, first time she saw how to do it and tried it she said this is easy, we have never looked back since
Gotta have my OceanSpray jellied cranberry. I'll even take it with me if I'm going to relatives' homes for TG, just in case they "forget." When serving it at *MY* holiday table it's dumped out of the can horizontally & reverently placed on a special oblong plate & left whole...because the rings are the cutting guide. Everybody knows *THAT!!* 🤣
Love ocean spray. Great to use in bottom of pan when making meatloaf instead of tomato sauce or ketchup
In a nod to growing up in the 60's and 70's, we always put out a can of the Ocean Spray, uncut in a serving dish. I like the sound when it falls out of the can. It's a family joke and no one never eats it but it does bring back memories. I always make my own; cranberries, sugar and orange juice. To simple not to make it. I never thought of Grand Marnier so I'm going to try it. Thanks Jack!!
Ocean Spray Cranberry Jelly is for me . 100 % The BEST .
I've made homemade and hated it. I usually go just jellied ,no whole berries, STORE BRAND!!
I add pico de Gallo (with finely minced cilantro).
Very tasty
Oceanspray is my favorite canned sauce. I make a frozen cranberry salad too that is always expected. 😊
Ocean Spray canned jellied "sauce" is absolutely necessary for Thanksgiving. Mixing turkey, stuffing, mashed potato, and cranberry into one bite is a heavenly experience.
I would encourage anyone who is interested, to make their own cranberry sauce. It's just so easy, almost like boiling eggs. All my children could do this from a very young age. Although I love the Ocean Spray jellied one and will buy it also.
My "go-to" is always whole berry Oceanspray with the rings. I also make a batch of whole berry, sugar, mandarin orange sauce ... and enjoy that too.
Bridget and Julia getting saucy in the outro!
When you said that the cranberry relish had walnuts in it, I panicked. I never thought of cranberry sauce having walnuts in it because I'm deathly alergic to walnuts where just a bit would send me to the hospital for a few weeks. I will very carefully check the ingredients. But I do prefer the Ocean Spray version with whole cranberries. Pure cranberries and sugar. And that satisfying sloop when it slides out of the can.
Ladies ladies ladies, you are always a treasure to watch and now I've always used Ocean Spray but now you have both changed my mind I am totally going to make my own Ocean Spray Grand Marnie with oranges I'm going to make my own cranberry sauce this Yr. Thanks 2 both of you..XOXO thank you for giving me the idea and inspiring me always so lovely to watch Love KQED a fan born and raised in San Francisco happy holidays..🍂🍁🍃🦃🦃🦀🦀🦞🌾🌿🍃🍁🍁🍂🍁🌿
Canned Ocean spray is a MUST for my family hahaha
Ocean Spray jellied crandberry sauce has been a tradition in my life since childhood until I decided to make my own last year. Best decision of my Thanksgiving life. I will never go back to canned crandberry sauce. Homemade is so easy to make I don't know what took me so long.
Orange juice instead of water gives an extra layer of flavor.
I’ve made my own since the 70’s. Cranberries, sugar (not too much!), fresh orange zest, and juice. Sometimes red wine, often slivered almonds. So easy and delicious. I may go with Jack’s Grand Marnier this year!
I always make the whole berry version from scratch using Williams Sonoma recipe and I buy the Ocean Spray jellied for those who haven't come to the dark side yet! lol
I like the explanation on the upside label for Ocean Spray
One year my daughter (then late teens) was “ranting” about the jellied canned cranberry sauce. Lol, I bought ocean spray, heated it up added a handful of real cranberries (you could buy them in small containers) a bit more sugar & I think some dried lemon zest. I put it in a pretty bowel & buried the can in the bottom of the garbage. She never knew the difference 🤣
Love the Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry Sauce. As kids, we'd slather butter and the OS on biscuits. Yummmm!
The canned jelly is childhood memories. Nothing ever compares to it.
I love Oceanspray. I do like my homemade cranberry sauce: Simple = Fresh whole cranberries boiled in pure maple syrup until they start popping and cooked.
I’ve always liked the ocean spray whole berry best
You guys are just awesome!
How can you not love these people???
Good timing! ;-) Right on target for thanksgiving. how about also doing an episode on grocery bought stuffing mix?
I LOVE to grind my own, fresh, using Zehnder's cranberry relish recipe. My 2nd favorite would be the Oceanspray.