there's more to a Thanksgiving meal Than Just Turkey so let's round up the top 10 worst
Thanksgiving dinner dishes cranberry sauce the cranberry is such an unassuming fruit the rich
color and delicate size and structure of the fruit lulls you into a false sense of sweet decadence
the reality is far less appealing the cranberry is tough chewy and overall pretty brutal on the
taste buds The Cranberries always seemed like an odd addition to the holiday table the fruit
is incredibly sour even after adding buckets of sugar The Taste always completely overtakes just
about everything it touches making it a bizarre option to have as a side dish to the more subtle
flavor of a perfectly basted and baked turkey and forget about using it in a dessert however
year after year it continues to make an appearance on dining tables far and wide but what is it and
what makes the weird red relish so unpleasant the best answer lies within the bucket of sugar
idea that was touched on earlier in fact the cranberry sauce that you buy doesn't have any
actual sugar per se but rather it is cooked with high fructose corn syrup the concoction is then
broiled and boiled into the notorious red goop then cooled in canned it comes in two popular
types the jellied for more of a solid goop flavor and the whole fruit slash Berry variety if chewing
pieces of the fruit in the jelly is something that you prefer either way cranberry sauce continues to
appear on the table regardless of how much people dislike it turnip this Thanksgiving sign takes us
on a journey into the blander end of the side dish Spectrum turnip is a root vegetable that comes
in two main colors purple and white it grows in cold climates with lots of sunlight turnips have
been used in place of the greasy salty potato chip appearing on shelves in the last decade or
so as an alternative chip if you're feeling like something with a more earthy taste they have more
fiber if you care about that kind of thing but for the purposes of this list the turnip is not being
put on a pedestal for its trendy new appearance on store shelves this kind of turnip is the kind that
is mashed and smashed is served with little to no seasoning and tends to make a sickly sound when
a heaping spoon of it hits the plate it tends to be the dull white version with perhaps a Sprinkle
of cheese or an onion to Jazz it up jazzing up a turnip seems to be an uphill battle as many people
still associate the turnip with tasting like dirt ouch steamed or boiled baked or grilled try
as it might the turnip continues to be one of the worst additions to the Thanksgiving dinner spread
creamed corn there are lots of corn Advocates out there but we're not talking about the fan
favorite corn on the cob we're talking about creamed corn also known as cream style sweet
corn or simply soup corn the name really says it all creamed corn is a soup like milky mess
that usually comes in a can for ease of use interestingly when made from scratch it can get
surprisingly complex the corn needs to be husked and shucked before all the individual kernels are
sliced off and removed from the cob the kernels themselves are then painstakingly sliced halfway
through using a sharp knife this step is set to release the corn juice from the kernels which is
what makes up the creamed portion of the dish you heard that right the original creamed corn
contained absolutely no cream or milk or dairy byproducts at all the corn juice was either
repurposed because it looked a bit milky or the milk from the mushy white of the cob was saved
stored and used as a base today the canned version that is most often seen on Thanksgiving tables
contains tapioca starch as its thickening agent and nothing says Thanksgiving like tapioca starch
ambrosia salad a lesser-known Thanksgiving meal add-on is the ambrosia salad and while it is used
as a lighter dessert option to the popular pumpkin pie there are still loads of people who Feast on
the stuff during the dinner portion of the meal as well the salads composition is interesting and
unexpected sink marshmallow fluff meets diced up Jello it contains a medley of fruits such
as oranges apples cherries and peaches that are then slathered with heavy cream tossed chilled
and served the Ambrosia part of the equation comes from ancient Greek mythology where all the
gods and various other rich people would eat the dish because it was said to promote immortality
even after the Greek god idea there was another similar school of thought this one stated that the
salad separated the rich from the poor in the late 19th century as it contained ingredients that most
people couldn't afford the dish crept up through the ranks and onto the holiday table in recent
years sure it has a bit of a cult-like following but many people are not sold reviews of the dish
often include words like gross and disgusting along with phrases like tastes like wet cheese so
for many there's just one question surrounding the sickly sweet and oddly out of place dish why hard
veggie platter there's no doubting the importance of rounding out a meal with the appropriate number
of greens especially when balancing out a heavy Thanksgiving meal however nothing seems to spell
dread as guests start to gather at the dinner table like a tray of rock hard tasteless raw
veggies perhaps because on a day of Thanksgiving Indulgence gnawing through a carrot or a giant
celery stalk just doesn't seem to go with the Savory theme of the day in fact more than 36
percent of Americans say they often don't bother to add veggies to any of their meals ever so when
Thanksgiving rolls around the number of people lining up to eat raw veggies is pretty low keeping
with the topic by far the most unpopular way a raw vegetable can show up during a holiday meal is in
the big bulky plastic tray you know the one the one with the weak selection of carrots broccoli
and celery and who can forget that teeny tiny ranch dressing in the San enter while it may be
an easy choice if you're asked to bring something last minute don't the pre-packaged raw vegetable
tray really tanks time and again the tray has dinner guests turning up their noses between the
boring selection and predictable packaging it's no wonder people find themselves skipping over the
veggies in favor of just about everything else the good news there always seems to be lots left over
giblet gravy wild turkey is one of the more widely enjoyed meals from the poultry family it can be
argued that without the correct accompaniments it can be a little bit dry and dull but when it comes
to jazzing it up gravy is one of the more popular condiments standard gravy is a simple concept
splash the bird juice in with some flour maybe some salt and pepper and there you go but as with
anything in the culinary World it just wouldn't be right if someone didn't want to change the formula
into something that no one really wanted enter giblet gravy giblets are categorized as the neck
gizzard heart and liver of a turkey they usually are removed and then held together with netting
before being placed with the bird again to put it bluntly they're often stuffed where the sun
doesn't shine remove the giblets from the bird add some seasoning and the faithful scoop of flour and
you have something that is definitely different from the standard gravy you wouldn't for example
want a slather giblet gravy on French tries there isn't much about this kind of gravy that is
versatile giblet gravy is more often than not an unwanted extension of the Thanksgiving turkey the
reason is up in the air but the rumor has it that one specific organ that is found within the giblet
Sac takes the flavor in a nasty Direction the liver is known to have a very strong bitter taste
and smell which can completely overpower the dish and take it into borderline inedible territory
cauliflower since about 2019 there's been a push towards using cauliflower as an option in lieu of
meat or bread the reason being it's adaptability for people with certain food sensitivities so it
isn't that surprising that variations of Thanksgiving items now include the humble
cauliflower cauliflower in this case takes over for potatoes particularly of the mashed variety
its mild flavor isn't the worst but it's bland soppy texture is pretty gross not only that but
frankly it stinks cauliflower gets its stenge from sulfur compounds that are released when
they're heated and cooked there isn't much you can do about the smell either between the dull
appearance boring color and general smelliness mashed cauliflower has officially sealed a spot
as one of the worst Thanksgiving dishes ham the main course dilemma ham or turkey it's a
landslide victory for the turkey with an estimated 280 million turkeys eaten every U.S Thanksgiving
the big bird is the star of the meal that's clear it makes for great leftovers it takes forever to
make so guests are waiting in anticipation for the big event a turkey is the whole show on the
flip side let's be honest no one gives a round of applause when the ham comes out a survey done on
behalf of the Honey Baked Ham Company wanted to know the most popular Thanksgiving main course
and they found out the hard way it's not ham in fact not a single solitary Soul chose ham
so with that cleared up a deeper dive can be done on what has people so put off by it for
some the answer lies in the dressing for the ham sometimes ham comes coated in a sick maple syrup
sometimes there's a pineapple slicer too attached other times it's served along inside its worst
foods list mate canned cranberry sauce even in a standalone sense ham is just not as popular the
reasons could date all the way back to the ham and cheese sandwich that was stuck in paper bag
lunches and sent to school with kids across the country it's considered by some to be an inferior
sandwich meat so if it is shunned by the average grade schooler it isn't really a surprise that it
makes the list of worst Thanksgiving Foods either stuffing Thanksgiving stuffing is diverse and can
be prepared so many different ways the one thing every stuffing has in common is stylish bread as
well as the obvious place where it gets stuffed one of the first appearances of stuffing goes
all the way back to the Roman Empire even back then cookbooks contained recipes for stuffing
that went with a myriad of different Meats like pigs chickens and even rabbits fast forward a
bit to the Thanksgiving turkey the flavors that appear in turkey stuffing are all over the map
most contain herbs like Rosemary or thyme but where the idea of stuffing goes off the rails
seems to be the more random items added to the mix some stuffing includes raisins nuts organ meat and
spelled a type of hold wheat if all of this seems like too much trouble there are brands that can
be purchased the ones with the spicy crunchy dehydrated bread pellets are used by over half
of Americans at Thanksgiving we aren't talking about that type here though store robot stuffing
isn't technically stuffed anywhere and tends to be cooked next to the turkey not inside it instant
potato flakes while you may not have any actual pilgrims invited to your Thanksgiving dinner this
dish offends many dinner guests instant potatoes have a tried and true ick factor that is deserving
of a spot on the worst Thanksgiving dinner food list not only are they unauthentic the texture
and the obvious lack of effort involved in their preparation makes them an unwelcome addition While
most would prefer not to sweat over a potato masher making sure each person at the table
has a proper helping of the starchy staple instant potato flakes are better left off the menu if you
want to keep guests happy the interest in instant potatoes is understandable they save on a lot of
physical labor and take less than a couple minutes to make on the other hand further inspection of
instant potatoes shows an alarming backstory instant potatoes came to fruition because the
Incas would purposely freeze some of their crops namely they or sliced potatoes the ice would then
be scraped off the potatoes would dry and the whole process would repeat until they were dry
enough to store this process would allow potatoes to last far longer than any other storage method
so they could be kept to guard against famine a thoughtful history lesson yes besides that the
convenience of the dish did not transition well onto the dinner table of the average American
wanting a more familiar fluffy and buttery version of the potato as a side dish so even though it's a
lot of work stick to real spuds to make your mashed potatoes and stay far away from the
instant potato flakes don't let this be the side dish that takes your Thanksgiving dinner down a
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