Thanksgiving is one of the biggest food days of the year. It’s hedged around with tradition—though different people and families and regions have varying traditions—and the result is that many of us have very strong opinions about Thanksgiving food. That’s good, because food is an easier topic for arguments than so many of the ones people have when they get together with extended family for the holidays. But here’s your chance to really let loose with your most controversial food takes. If you want to troll a little on the subject of pie or cranberry sauce, go for it.
I’m sincere and not at all trolling when I say that I am team jellied cranberry sauce all the way. It’s partly a texture thing; I don’t like the slimy whole berries in the can or the prickly chunky stuff so many people make homemade. Jellied cranberry is the right mixture of sweet and tart to balance a plate with a lot of salty components. And balance is key to a Thanksgiving meal. Sure, you can make fancy versions of any of the components (J. Kenji López-Alt’s ultimate homemade green bean casserole is amazing), but you don’t want some try-hard dish crowding out the glory of a bite containing turkey and gravy and mashed potatoes and stuffing and cranberry sauce all together.
According to a 2021 YouGov poll, canned cranberry sauce edges out made-from-scratch cranberry sauce, though a plurality say they like it either way. That poll doesn’t settle the jellied vs. whole berry debate, though, and mine is certainly a much-maligned position on social media.
YouGov also found that the most popular Thanksgiving pie is pumpkin, followed by pecan and apple. Here’s my next controversial Thanksgiving food take: I don’t like pie crust.
Cake is preferable to pie during the rest of the year, but Thanksgiving is definitely about pie. Crust, though, is kind of a pain in the butt to make and generally detracts from the whole experience. I just make pie fillings. If someone wants a kind of neutral starch with their pie filling, I’m happy to provide some biscuits on the side.
Also, you know what? Turkey is fine. Again, it’s about the balance of the Thanksgiving meal as a whole, and turkey works for that, so quit complaining.
How about you? What are your most debate-worthy Thanksgiving food takes?
