CLOSEST TO HOMEMADE® - CRANBERRY SAUCES

Information updated October 2023

It’s that time of year again! Break out the cranberries. Homemade cranberry sauce is simple: it’s Cranberries + Sugar + Water + Spices all slowly simmered together to create a lovely sweet and tangy sauce.

We’ll use this ingredient listing as a reference as we look for manufactured Cranberry Sauces which are Closest To Homemade >> those cranberry sauces whose ingredients are closest to those we would use at home.

OCEAN SPRAY CRANBERRY SAUCES ARE FAR FROM HOMEMADE: Let’s take a look at #1 U.S. brand Ocean Spray and see how it compares to homemade. (Source for Brand ranking: Statista 2023; Source for ingredients: Ocean Spray Web site 10/23)

Any ingredient that would not be in our kitchens if we were making homemade cranberry sauce is designated as Not In Kitchen™.

OCEAN SPRAY CRANBERRY SAUCES ARE BANNED AT WHOLE FOODS FOR CONTAINING HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP WHICH WHOLE FOODS CITES AS “UNACCEPTABLE IN FOOD.” (Source for banned ingredients: Whole Foods Web site 10/23)

As shown above, one 14oz. can of Ocean Spray cranberry sauce contains 22 grams of Added Sugar in the Whole Berry and 24 grams of Added Sugar in the Jellied Cranberry Sauce.

For perspective, the American Heart Association recommends that children consume no more than 25 grams of Added Sugars daily. (Source: AHA 2023)

Added sugars are defined as those sugars which are added beyond those which may naturally occur (in this case, in the cranberries). All cranberry sauces do contain some small amount of naturally occurring sugars from the cranberries, but the naturally occurring sugars in cranberries are minimal because cranberries are one of the lowest sugar fruits. This is why cranberries are so tart.

OCEAN SPRAY CRANBERRY COMPARISON: Whole Organic Cranberries vs. Jellied Cranberry Sauce.

1/2 cup of Organic Cranberries has only 2 grams of naturally-occurring Sugar vs. 1/4 cup of Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry Sauce which contains 24 grams of Added Sugar.

OCEAN SPRAY CRANBERRRY SAUCE THEN vs. NOW COMPARISON: Once upon a time, Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce was made with Sugar as a sweetener and was Closest To Homemade. Now, Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry Sauce is made with High Fructose Corn Syrup and Corn Syrup and is banned at Whole Foods.

Q: Which one would you rather eat?

Q: Why do you think Ocean Spray switched from Sugar to High Fructose Corn Syrup and Corn Syrup >> was this change made in the interest of The Company or The Consumer?

TA ASSOCIATES-OWNED STONEWALL KITCHEN CRANBERRY PRODUCTS CONTAIN Not In Kitchen INGREDIENTS: There are a total of five Not In Kitchen ingredients combined in Stonewall Kitchen Cranberry Horseradish Sauce and Cranberry Relish including Soy Oil, Natural Flavors, the man-made Chemical Preservative Citric Acid x2 and Tapioca Starch. (Source for ingredients: TA Associates Stonewall Kitchen Web site 10/23) The U.S. FDA 2023 recognizes Manufactured Citric Acid as a Preservative created using Aspergillus Niger, also known as Black Mold.

CLOSEST TO HOMEMADE CRANBERRY SAUCES: Shown below, these Closest To Homemade brands have no High Fructose Corn Syrup or Corn Syrup, no Chemical Preservatives and no Added Flavors or Colors. These include Appalachian Naturals Cranberry Sauce sweetened with Monk Fruit Extract; Maple Craft Foods Cranberry Sauce sweetened with Vermont Maple Syrup; New England Cranberry Colonial Cranberry Sauce; Tiptree Wilkin & Sons Wild Cranberry Sauce, and Williams Sonoma New England Style Cranberry Relish. (Sources: Brand Web sites 10/23)

*Neither money nor products are ever accepted to appear on the Closest To Homemade list*

Shown below, CLOSEST TO HOMEMADE ORGANIC CRANBERRY SAUCES: These include USDA Certified Organic and Non-GMO Project Verified Woodstock; Organic Appalachian Naturals; Thrive Market Organic Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce; Whole Foods 365 Organic Whole Berry Organic Cranberry Sauce in a non-BPA lined can, and Simple Truth Organic Jellied Cranberry Sauce in a non-BPA lined can. (Sources: Brand Web sites 10/23)

Discover more food + beverages which are Closest To Homemade in 275+ categories. Neither money nor products are ever accepted to appear on the Closest To Homemade list.

Closest To Homemade® Master List

CRANBERRY SAUCE SUGAR SOURCE COMPARISON: Here’s a comparison of Closest To Homemade brand Whole Foods 365 Whole Berry Cranberry vs. Ocean Spray’s Jellied Cranberry Sauce. The added sweetener in Whole Foods 365 is Organic Cane Sugar while the sweeteners in Ocean Spray are High Fructose Corn Syrup and Corn Syrup. (Sources: Whole Foods and Ocean Spray Web sites 10/23)

WHAT’S THE PROBLEM WITH HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP? For more information regarding the significant + increasing concerns surrounding the propagation + consumption of High Fructose Corn Syrup, please consider watching the Ingredient Inspector video on YouTube:

high fructose corn syrup

Here’s a look back at the days when Ocean Spray was made with real sugar and “like mother used to make” . . .