Thanksgiving may be a time for Americans to come together, but opinion is divided over what’s on the crowded dinner table. We mostly agree on the deliciousness of pumpkin pie, say, but are split over the eternal turkey question of dark meat versus white meat.
And don’t even ask if marshmallows belong on sweet potatoes — it could cause a ruckus.
THE BIRD
About 3 in 10 U.S. adults (32%) who will celebrate Thanksgiving this year say turkey is their favorite dish in the holiday feast, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Stuffing or dressing (19%) and mashed potatoes (6%) come in second and third.
Although turkey is tops across U.S. regions and ages, there’s a slight generational divide. Americans 45 or older are especially likely to call turkey the best thing on the Thanksgiving table (39%), while younger adults who agree come in at 24%.
Once the turkey is carved, about 4 in 10 celebrators (43%) prefer white meat over dark (28%), and about one in five (21%) have no preference. Older people are more likely than those under 45 to prefer dark meat (31% vs. 24%).
About 1 in 10 adults under 45 don’t like the big bird at all.
THE SAUCE
As for the least favorite dishes on the Thanksgiving table, look no further than cranberries. About 2 in 10 celebrators say cranberries or cranberry sauce wouldn’t be missed. (For the record, KRC Research reports 80 million pounds of cranberries are eaten during Thanksgiving week.)
Thanksgiving celebrators are generally divided on whether it’s better to have cranberry sauce from a can or homemade. About one-quarter (24%) say the canned sauce is preferable, while 22% want it made from scratch. About one-third (35%) just don’t like cranberry sauce, with those under 45 being more likely than older adults to dislike it.
THE PIE
According the poll, pumpkin pie is the safe bet if you want to make the average guest happy. One-third of U.S. adults who will celebrate Thanksgiving say that’s their preferred dessert.
Pecan pie got 17%, apple pie was right behind with 15% and sweet potato pie was at 12%. Chocolate pie and cherry or berry pie were in the single digits.
AND ABOUT THE SWEET POTATOES
One of the holiday’s biggest divides is whether marshmallows belong on sweet potato dishes. About one-third (32%) say they prefer that whoever is cooking nix the marshmallows, while 26% want them added. Another one-quarter don’t like sweet potato dishes at all, and 16% have no preference.
There are some regional differences over marshmallows, according to the data. Northeasterners (42%) are more likely than Midwesterners (29%) or Southerners (29%) to say no to them.
THE COOK’S TOUCH
Among those celebrating Thanksgiving, women (34%) are more likely than men (19%) to say they will do all or most of the cooking. Slightly fewer than half of men (46%) who plan to celebrate Thanksgiving say they will do hardly any or none of the cooking. Just one-quarter of women participants say the same.
The poll of 1,239 adults was conducted Nov. 2-6, 2023, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, designed to represent the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.
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The Associated Press contributed to this article.