Why Is Cranberry Sauce Canned Upside Down?

Cranberry sauce is one of the few Thanksgiving foods you can serve with no real kitchen know-how. All you have to do is open the can, loosen the gelatinous contents with a knife, and watch them slide onto the plate in one piece. In fact, the straight-out-of-the-can ridges on jellied cranberry sauce are a common source of nostalgia. You know it’ll taste the same—like childhood—every time. 

The most popular variety of canned cranberry sauce is the jellied version from the brand Ocean Spray. If you’ve ever included it in your Thanksgiving meal, you probably noticed something odd: It’s canned upside-down. That is, the label is on upside-down, so that the end with the rounded edge faces up. You have to use the can opener on the lipped bottom side (which actually looks like the top) to get it out.

The reason for this strange packaging choice is simple: It allows the jelly to slide out smoothly without breaking apart. Part of the can is deliberately left empty so an air bubble can form at the top. Instead of having to flip the can and shake it to get the sauce out, a quick swipe of a knife around the bottom edges lets it out in one plop, ridges and all. The product has been manufactured this way for roughly 20 years.

If you aren’t a fan of the processed look and want to “upgrade” to a homemade version, you may upset a good portion of your guests. Americans are passionate and particular about their cranberry sauce (if they even eat it at all—it’s actually the most disliked Thanksgiving food). According to one Ocean Spray survey, 46 percent of people care just as much about the type of cranberry sauce they have at Thanksgiving as they do about their favorite sports team. And the battle between canned and homemade is real; 60 percent of respondents preferred canned cranberry sauce, while 40 percent preferred homemade. So good luck pleasing everyone.

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