If you served Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce this Thanksgiving, perhaps you noticed that the label on the can appeared upside down. In other words, the top of the can (the end with the “lip” that your can opener looks for) was on the bottom.
If you did observe this, and thought it was an error at the canning plant, think again. According to CNN:
The company says it puts the label on that way on purpose so grocers, and you, store the cans with the side you open facing down. …
Ocean Spray says it causes the contents to settle, and an air bubble to form at the top.
That way, when you open it on the bottom of the label, you can slide a knife along the edge of the can on the inside to break the vacuum.
Then, the cranberry sauce will slide out perfectly intact to plop onto your serving dish in a single piece.
Maybe a better solution would have been to print the instruction “Open this end” on the label, with an arrow pointing toward the bottom of the can.
An even better solution would be to make your own cranberry sauce by combining a 12-ounce bag of cranberries in a saucepan with 3/4 cup sugar and 3/4 cup orange juice and cooking over medium-low heat covered for about 10 minutes, or until the berries have burst. It’s not only simple and quick to make but tastes much better.
