Those cranberries are just the start

When Thanksgiving rolls around, talk turns to food and eventually cranberry sauce.

The sauce is generally love it or hate it, especially when it comes to the kind that comes from a can.

Ocean Spray, the largest producer of canned cranberry sauce, says nearly 70 percent of the tangy condiment is purchased during the holidays, which translates to more than 5 million gallons of the sauce. Cranberry sauce — whether homemade or store bought — may be traditional, but there are plenty of other options.

With all the rich dishes on the table, it’s nice to offer a fruit relish, chutney or salad to cleanse the palate and enliven the turkey.

I remember the Thanksgiving salad my grandmother Po-Po used to make. At first glance, it looked cranberry-ish, but was one of those Midwest concoctions of Jell-O, cream cheese, pecans, diced celery and, of all things, Red Hots (dissolved in the Jell-O). After she died, I missed having it each year. It was a tradition. I think I once attempted to recreate it long ago for old times’ sake.

My attempt was moderately successful. The salad (I don’t recall that I ever knew the name of the dish) was just missing that extra-special something that Po-Po gave it, or perhaps my tastes have changed.

I’ve since made a number of Thanksgiving salads, chutneys and relishes — including some published in The Chronicle’s Food & Wine section — and have enjoyed them all.

We’ve gone through our recipe archives and found five terrific fruit and vegetable relishes that feature ingredients such as fuyu persimmons, pear and red bell peppers. For traditionalists, there is also an uncooked cranberry relish and The Chronicle’s classic citrus-cranberry sauce.

This year, I plan to make one or two of these recipes, which might be served alongside their canned counterpart.