The Fall Cranberry Side Dish That Once Ruled Suburban Tables In The 1950s

Cranberry soufflé salad was a vintage dish that turned up on midcentury holiday tables. Despite the fancy name, however, this 1950s treat is not a baked soufflé. It is a molded gelatin "salad" that starts with canned whole cranberry sauce and plain gelatin, then takes a left turn with a spoonful of mayonnaise to make the mixture creamy and set with a soft wobble. Some variations add lemon juice and zest for brightness, along with chopped walnuts, diced apple or orange, and sometimes pineapple bits. That is to say, it was quite the customizable meal in its heyday.

The basic method could not be simpler, too: Dissolve gelatin in hot water with sugar and salt, beat in lemon and mayonnaise, fold in cranberries, fruit, and nuts, then chill in a mold until set. Slice it like a cake and serve alongside turkey or ham, where its sweet tart glaze easily becomes an instant stand in for relish or salad. If you didn't know this about cranberry sauce, the recipe has existed for many years, and appeared in the 1796 cookbook "American Cookery" by Amelia Simmons. This is the first-ever cookbook written by an American. Cranberries are also native to North America, and Indigenous people cultivated and harvested them long before European settlers made their way to the land. On Indigenous Peoples' Day, you can expect to find cranberries present in many celebrations.

In the 1950s, the soufflé salad rode a perfect postwar wave. Refrigerators were commonplace, and convenience foods were starting to become the norm in many households. Think TV dinners and comfort, no-fuss meals. It's no surprise that molded salads were a hit. Food companies poured money into ads and label recipes that promised dependable results with pantry brands, and cranberry soufflé salad fit that pitch to a tee. Brands like Hellmann's appeared in print with named recipes across magazines and cookbooks.

By the late 1960s and 70s, tastes shifted. French-inspired home cooking started to gain mainstream popularity, thanks in part to Julia Child and her love of French cuisine. Her cookbooks and television programs swept the nation, making her style of cooking more accessible to everyday home cooks. The genre of sugary molded salads never vanished, though. Retro cooks still revive cranberry molds, especially during the holidays, where they may serve as a nostalgic treat. If you do decide to make a cranberry soufflé salad today, you are tasting a real time capsule of American home cooking, and you can see exactly why it ruled fall tables for a generation. Nowadays, though, there are a variety of ways to enjoy cranberries, and the soufflé salad might be a dated option, Thanksgiving celebration or not.