Special Report

This Is the Thanksgiving Food People Hate the Most

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: November 25, 2021 10:00 am

Thanksgiving is only two days away. Nevertheless, people started to plan for it weeks or even months ago, buying the many items necessary for a complete Thanksgiving meal — including cranberry sauce. Hosts might be interested to know, however, that Cranberry sauce is the Thanksgiving food people hate the most.

After months of travel restrictions, most airlines now operate at full schedules (except those that have too few employees to operate). People have started to buy food early. Among the reasons for many of the early food purchases are that food has become more expensive and some foods have become hard to find. For example, turkey prices have risen 20% since last year. The Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index Summary for October showed that the cost of food people eat at home was up 5.4% from last year.

Some food items won’t be missed by many people if they are not available. It is not unusual to see some diners push away from the table when they are served yams. Some people don’t like turkey, so they opt for ham or another substitute instead. Here are 12 delicious alternatives to turkey for your Thanksgiving feast.

The 2021 Thanksgiving Travel Survey from The Vacationer travel guide looked at several aspects of Thanksgiving, including how far people travel, what they intend to spend on travel, where they plan to eat, how many people will be at the table — and which Thanksgiving foods they disliked the most. 

24/7 Tempo reviewed the survey, which polled 1,092 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. The poll was conducted online using SurveyMonkey. In addition to questions about travel and other topics, respondents were asked which of a dozen different traditional Thanksgiving foods they disliked.

Among the key conclusions of the survey was that 42% of Americans will travel for the holiday, wrote Eric Jones, an assistant professor of mathematics at Rowan College South Jersey. That translates into 109 million adults. There is considerable concern this will in turn translate into yet another wave of COVID-19. 

Nearly 45% of people will have Thanksgiving dinner at home, and another 47% will have Thanksgiving at the home of a relative or friend. A third will attend a dinner with 10 or more people.

After these questions and answers, the survey turned to which dishes people dislike the most. Cranberry sauce topped the list at 29.92%. Surprisingly, turkey was second at 28.09%. The food that the fewest people dislike is carrots at 12.08%. (Here are 20 killer side dishes to ramp up your Thanksgiving.)

Click here to see the Thanksgiving food people hate the most

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12. Carrots
> Pct. of people who dislike: 12.08%

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11. Corn
> Pct. of people who dislike: 13.82%

24/7 Wall St.
20 Killer Side Dishes to Ramp Up Your Thanksgiving

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10. Macaroni and cheese
> Pct. of people who dislike: 14.73%

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9. Mashed potatoes
> Pct. of people who dislike: 17.57%

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8. Pumpkin pie
> Pct. of people who dislike: 20.77%

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7. Ham
> Pct. of people who dislike: 21.23%

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6. Coleslaw
> Pct. of people who dislike: 21.68%

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5. Stuffing/dressing
> Pct. of people who dislike: 23.42%

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4. Sweet potatoes/yams
> Pct. of people who dislike: 24.25%

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3. Green bean casserole
> Pct. of people who dislike: 24.61%

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2. Turkey
> Pct. of people who dislike: 28.09%

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1. Cranberry sauce
> Pct. of people who dislike: 29.92%