Did you know that there’s a National Cranberry Relish Day? This national day occurs annually on November 22nd.
Cranberries are one of the symbols of Thanksgiving, so it’s only fitting that this day falls right before the holiday.
Keep reading to learn interesting cranberry facts, and get ways to celebrate this National Cranberry Relish Day. Plus, try making the 3 ingredient fresh cranberry relish recipe at the bottom of the post.
What is cranberry relish?
Before we start celebrating National Cranberry Relish Day, let’s go over what cranberry relish is! Chances are you’ve seen some sort of cranberry dish at your Thanksgiving table, but it’s probably not fresh cranberry relish.
It’s important to mention that there are two different cranberry side dishes that can sometimes get confused for one another – cranberry relish and cranberry sauce.
Cranberry relish is a raw side dish that uses three main ingredients – fresh cranberries, oranges and sugar.
Cranberry relish vs cranberry sauce
If you’re confused about the difference between cranberry sauce and cranberry relish, don’t worry they’re very easy to tell apart!
Cranberry relish is made from all raw ingredients, and blended in a food processor. It is more tart and tangy than cranberry sauce.
Cranberry sauce also uses fresh cranberries, but it is cooked over heat instead of being made in a food processor. It often has a sweeter flavor profile than cranberry relish.
How to observe National Cranberry Relish Day
There are lots of obvious ways to celebrate National Cranberry Relish Day. Here are a few other creative ideas to help honor this day.
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- Try making the cranberry relish recipe at the bottom of this post!
- Want to make a different cranberry recipe? Try this recipe for slow cooker spiced wine with fresh cranberries.
- Get our free Thanksgiving word search and find the word “cranberry” hidden within it.
- Decode the word “cranberry” from our Thanksgiving word scramble.
- The answer to one of the clue in this Thanksgiving crossword puzzle is “cranberry”. See if you can figure out which one it is.
- Get this Thanksgiving scavenger hunt and look for the cranberries pictured in it.
- Read on to learn some fun facts about cranberries!
- Check out the New York Times food columns, after all, that’s where the recipe for fresh cranberry relish originated.
- If you don’t like the taste of cranberries, you can still celebrate the day by wearing something that is the color of cranberries!
- Use the hashtag #NationalCranberryRelishDay to spread the word about the day on social media.
Fun facts about cranberries
Celebrate National Cranberry Relish day by reading these cranberry facts. Some may surprise you!
- There are six main Thanksgiving symbols, and cranberries are one of them! Check out our post on the symbols of Thanksgiving to learn more.
- Cranberries are one of the few fruits native to North America.
- There are approximately 450 cranberries in a pound.
- Only 5% of cranberries are sold fresh, the other 95% are processed.
- In the 1880s, a New Jersey cranberry grower named John “Peg Leg” Webb discovered that cranberries bounce.
- Americans consume 400 million pounds of cranberries every year. 20% of that amount (80 million pounds) are consumed during the week of Thanksgiving.
If you enjoyed learning these fun facts about cranberries, make sure you head over to our page dedicated to cranberry facts! There’s tons more interesting info on cranberries, and some FAQs there too.
The history of fresh cranberry relish
Cranberry relish was invented in New England in the early 1900s, but didn’t start gaining popularity until the 1950s.
In 1959 Craig Clairborne published a recipe for fresh cranberry relish in his New York Times food column. A woman dubbed “Mama Stamberg” made the recipe and shared it with her family.
Her daughter in law, Susan Stamberg (an NPR special correspondent) went on a nationally syndicated radio program called The Splendid Table hosted by Lynne Rossetto Kasper and shared the recipe.
This particular cranberry relish recipe includes not only cranberries and sugar, but also horseradish, raw onions and sour cream! Another difference is that this recipe is made through using a meat grinder.
Since 1971, Susan Stamberg has been sharing Mama Stamberg’s cranberry relish recipe with NPR readers and listeners annually during Thanksgiving.
While Craig Clairborne is the author of the recipe, this variation of cranberry relish is commonly referred to as “Mama Stamberg’s cranberry relish recipe”.
Easy cranberry relish recipe
If you feel intimidated by Mama Stamberg’s fresh cranberry relish recipe that uses a meat grinder to combine cranberries, sugar, sour cream, horseradish, and raw onion, don’t worry, we have an easier alternative for you.
To make our easy cranberry relish recipe, just grab your food processor, sugar, cranberries and oranges. That’s all you need, it’s really that simple.
Check out our recipe card at the bottom of this post for step by step instructions to make this fresh cranberry relish recipe. It’s a perfect last minute recipe to bring to your Thanksgiving gathering.
More November 22 national days
Did you enjoy learning about National Cranberry Relish Day? Well you’re in luck, November 22 is host to more than just one national day!
Here is a complete list of all the November 22 national days:
- National Cranberry Relish Day
- Go for a Ride Day
- Humane Society Anniversary Day
- Stop the Violence Day
- Start Your Own Country Day
For more reasons to celebrate this month, check out this list of national days in November and November food holidays. There’s even monthly observances like National Gratitude Month to celebrate this month!
You can also watch this November national food days video on YouTube for more special days this month.
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Fresh Cranberry Relish Recipe
Looking for an easy recipe to make for Thanksgiving, or National Cranberry Relish Day? Look no further than this 3 ingredient easy cranberry relish recipe.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces of fresh cranberries
- 1 unpeeled orange
- ½ cup granulated sugar (plus more, to taste)
Instructions
- Leaving the peel on the orange, cut into sections.
- Take the seeds out of the orange.
- Put the cranberries, orange and ½ cup sugar into a food processor.
- Blend until no large chunks remain.
- Add more sugar to taste.
Notes
I recommend starting with ½ cup of sugar, and then adding more to taste. You can always add more, but you can't take it out!
This recipe yields 3 cups of fresh cranberry relish, (six half cup servings).
Also, this is a very simple recipe, don't be afraid to experiment with different variations of it! Add jalapeños for some heat, or apples for a multi-fruit relish!
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 118Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gSodium: 1mgCarbohydrates: 30gFiber: 3gSugar: 26gProtein: 1g
Nutritional information is approximate due to natural variation in ingredients and the cook-at-home nature of our meals.