I don't particularly like cranberries...who does? But it's one of those dishes that seems to have become a Thanksgiving "must", kind of like fruit cake and Christmas. According to a page on the Michigan State University Extension Service's website, here is a succinct explanation of how cranberries got caught up in Thanksgiving:
Due to the importance of cranberries in the 1500s and their abundance, it is believed that the pilgrims and the American Indians would have eaten them at the first Thanksgiving.
Among the Amish, I doubt cranberries have much of a spot in their culinary culture historically. If you look at Amish cooking and baking since they arrived in the United States 400 years ago, most Amish cooking is very basic, in a very narrow spectrum, and is very much locally sourced.
Cranberries just wouldn’t have been a part of that. Now, what you started to see happening in Amish culinary culture after World War II, is larger “pop-culture food trends “seeping into Amish cooking. Post-World War II production brought a lot of foods to in the Amish kitchen for the first time, foods they'd never been there before: canned soups, convenience foods, gelatin, and marshmallows.
In many ways the Amish experienced the same food revolution that everybody else did, it just came a little bit later. A “cranberry fluff “recipe like this isn’t even necessarily Amish per se, it’s a recipe that was introduced to the community from outside and was made popular. I'm sure Amish cooks made their own twists and tweaks and variations. Cranberries are probably found on many Amish Thanksgiving tables today, but it's an outside influence. The whole Thanksgiving feast is a pop culture influence on the Amish, many of the more conservative communities don't observe the day at all!
Back to the recipe, it’s are to find a recipe that actually has a clue as to its date of origin. In the last ingredient it called for heavy whipped cream or for “Lucky Whip “. Had no clue what “Lucky Whip" was and there isn't much online about it, not even a Wikipedia entry. One commenter on a website described Lucky Whip as a "whipped cream powder from the 50s and 60s. " Powdered whipped cream? Intriguing. Apparently, a ready kind also came in a can.
I’ve never even heard of Lucky Whip, apparently it is like Cool Whip, and was really popular during the 1950s and 60s. And by the year 2000 could no longer be found on shelves. But I can’t find a whole lot about that brand name. So this tells me that this recipe fits nicely in the post World War II food trends. I took the Lucky Whip out of the recipe because it would just confuse people since the brand is no longer around.
Start out with a large bowl and add the sugar to the cranberries, and then you'll add mini marshmallows.
Adding the marshmallows, just stir them in with a fork.
Stir it up well. Some of the cranberries, you'll mash as you stir, others will stay whole, and that's fine. The original recipe called for grinding up the cranberries, but no one is going to do that, this worked fine.
After sitting overnight, add the whipped topping - beaten stiff - and the apples, grapes, and nuts.
After you stir it well you can then put the cranberry fluff into individual serving bowls like above and it'll be a nice addition to your Thanksgiving feast, even for those - like me - who don't care for cranberries!
🥄 Easy Amish Cranberry Fluff
2 cups raw cranberries
3 cups mini marshmallows
¾ cup sugar
2 cups unpeeled diced apples
½ -1 cup green grapes, quartered
½ cup broken nuts
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup heavy cream, beaten stiff
📋 Instructions
In a large bowl, combine cranberries, marshmallows, and sugar.
Cover and chill overnight.
The next day, add apples, grapes, nuts, and salt.
Fold in whipped cream just before serving.
More Amish Cranberry Dishes
Ultimate Tossed Salad (with cranberries)
🖨️ Full Recipe
Easy Amish Cranberry Fluff
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw cranberries ground fine
- 3 cups mini marshmallows
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 cups unpeeled diced apples
- ½ -1 cup green grapes, quartered
- ½ cup broken nuts
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup heavy cream beaten stiff
Instructions
- Combine cranberries, marshmallows, and sugar.
- Cover and chill overnight.
- Add apples, nuts, grapes and salt.
- Fold in whipped cream just before serving.
Brenda Lewis
Dream Whip is most likely the same as Lucky Whip except they still make that.
Kevin Williams
I'll have to do a deeper dive, I think there was a Lucky Whip but maybe it was changed to Dream Whip?
Mary Ann Hemker
I do not like cranberries so I wouldn’t make this recipe.
Rita Root
sounds great for a change
Sherrell Gore
This sounds good and I would make it. I like cranberries in a salad like this. I also like cranberry sauce with my turkey and dressing.
Heather
Lucky Whip sounds much like what General Foods, back in the day (late 70s to late 80s) marketed as "Dream Whip." I remember using it in place of cool whip since it didn't take up room in the freezer. But for me now trying to stay away as much as possible from over-processed foods, I buy my heavy cream from Aldi. (And what I've seen at Aldi, they're stocked on their brands of crackers.) I also shop at local grocery outlets, many of them owned/managed by Amish or Mennonite folks, and the one I visited last Wednesday and today, didn't seem to have any shortage of products and not much price inflation other than on beef products.
Kevin Williams
Thanks, Heather, someone else brought up Dream Whip....I'm wondering if Lucky Whip was a forerunner to it? Perhaps the name changed to Dream Whip.....not sure. And thanks for the update on the Amish/Mennonite groceries, I have not been to one recently so I wasn't sure how supply chain issues were with them!
Judy Suboleski
I am 80 years old. I have used both and watched their progression to Cool Whip. Lucky Whip was definately the forerunner to Dream Whip. My Mother used Lucky Whip when I was a very young child in the 40's. Lucky Whip came out right after WWII. She switched to Dream Whip in the 50's sometime. It was always my job to beat it (Dream Whip) with a wire wisk or an old fashioned egg beater.
Love your site!! Keep up the good work...
Kevin Williams
Thanks, Judy, glad to hear from someone who remembers Lucky Whip!
Jackie Weber
Kevin: Jackie here- from WNY. Not sure what anyone else thinks or says but, as for me, I LOVE most anything cranberry. It's just not Thanksgiving at our house without it. I suppose that has something to do with the way I was brought up but, I just love the stuff. Hope my vote counts. And we eat it more than just for Thanksgiving, too.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family, by the way. Stay well.
Kevin Williams
Thanks, Jackie, I'll count you among the cranberry lovers, there are more here than I thought! And back at ya on a Happy Thanksgiving!
Carol J.
I enjoyed reading about the historic changes to the American diet. When my father had a WWII job in southern PA, my mother learned to cook regular Amish recipes using real ingredients. It was well tolerated and liked by our family when I was growing up, as was the food prepared by Mennonite women at Geisinger before food service companies existed.
Several years ago I had a GI problem which required that I change from the "modern American diet". I returned to real food as ingredients and the portion control of your parents. Thank you for all the good memories and recipes.
Kevin Williams
Thanks Carol, the good ol' days of real ingredients, I hope those come back. And, yes, portion control...I've learned the hard way how important that is!
Chris Malinowski
Hello it is not called Lucky Whip. It is called Dream Whip and it is made by Kraft Heinz Co. You can make a dessert topping out of it but also if you add a package of it to a box cake mix it inflates the cake upwards to make a very tall cake. It is still available in stores and online walmart and amazon. It tastes good too. Love your column.
Aimee
I'd never make this particular cranberry recipe, but I do make cranberry sauce from scratch for our Thanksgiving dinner. My husband and daughter like it better than me. I prefer to blend cranberry sauce with mayo and mustard to make a sandwich spread for the leftover turkey.
And now I'd like to call your attention to an error in your post: there's NO such thing as the "University of Michigan Extension Service" - it is Michigan State University that runs the extension service in the state of Michigan. Please correct this - we Spartans don't like being mixed up with the Wolverines, and I'm sure the opposite is true as well!
Kevin Williams
Yikes, sorry about that, I just corrected it!
Marian Wilson
I don't remember which hit the shelves first --Dream Whip or Lucky Whip but both had a strong usage in the 60's and 70's. Both could be found usually in the aisle next to the cake mixes. Lucky Whip also came in an aerosol can along with the Redi-Whip. You mixed the powdered contents with milk and vanilla whipped (best with a mixer) an you had a facsimile of whipped cream. Dream Whip is still manufactured today but Lucky Whip disappeared off the shelves completely by the 80's, as I recall. I would have to admit that I preferred the taste of this to the oil based frozen varieties that we use so much for convenience today and a much smoother consistency. ---- I admit I love cranberries. Originally from New England so that might have a little something to do with it. They are great add-ins to breads, pies, cakes, cookies etc. so much more than just cranberry sauce so you can add me to your cranberry lovers list
Kevin Williams
THANK YOU, Marian, I couldn't find anyone who knew first-hand whether Lucky Whip actually existed. Thank you for the insight!
Sue Cary
Oh I love cranberries in any form. And I do grind them with my grinder from my mother who used it all the time. I also use my food processor to grind things too. Fresh cranberry relish is requested by my sister for every Thanksgiving/Christmas feast. We love cranberry sauce in our leftover Turkey sandwich as well. I love receiving your Amish365 daily and share the recipes with my family
Kevin Williams
Thanks, Sue, I'll count you among the cranberry lovers here, there are more than I expected!
Carol Miller
I would enjoy trying this recipe, but my family would not. I will stick to the old tried and true cranberry sauce that I make each year and keep everyone happy. I do enjoy the leftover cranberry sauce on cottage cheese. I also enjoy the recipes you post and trying them. Wishing you and yours a blessed Thanksgiving.
Kevin Williams
Oh wow, cranberry sauce on cottage cheese? Interesting. I'll have to think about trying that. Maybe. Hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving also!