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As the beloved fall break approaches, so does the holiday that brings two extremely important aspects of life together. Family and food are truly the spotlight of Thansgiving, but the delicious flavors and aromas are the absolute winner in the end.  Although family is a key aspect, food is often the easier of the two to be opinionated about. Every table at Thanksgiving is different. Whether it consists of traveling or staying put, a few friends or a house full, an extravagant table or just an everyday dinner this time is one of thankfulness. Here is a ranking, in my opinion, of 12 popular Thanksgiving foods at my table from worst to best.

12. Gravy

I understand that gravy is an unusual choice for last place. But hear me out. Something that people put on both turkey and potatoes can’t possibly be good, and gravy itself looks like moldy alfredo sauce. I’ve never had gravy before, and I’m not sure I want to.

11. Potatoes

Whether they’re mashed, baked, or steamed, potatoes are disgusting. I know it is an unpopular opinion but I will always omit potatoes from my diet if I can, or push them to the side of my plate. The only thing that’s worse than potatoes is gravy, hence my rating placing them second-to-last.

10.Cranberry Sauce (homemade)

The purpose of cranberry sauce is to be delicious. It’s the cherry on top of a wonderful Thanksgiving meal. Maybe my aunt is just a really bad cook, but whenever she brings homemade cranberry sauce to Thanksgiving dinner, it tastes like someone mixed lemon juice and sugar and poured it on some half-heartedly mashed berries. In other words, the homemade cranberry sauce that I have encountered is disgusting. Maybe someone else’s aunt is an expert cranberry sauce chef, but until I try that concoction, homemade cranberry sauce deserves to be on the podium for worst Thanksgiving food.

9. Salad

Salad is not a traditional Thanksgiving food, but somehow my family succeeds in shoving it down my throat every November. Who decided it was a good idea to mix lettuce, tomatoes, peppers (my worst enemy), and carrots with a traditional Thanksgiving meal? Sure, restaurants can produce some delicious produce, and I’m not saying all salad is bad. But on Thanksgiving? No thank you.

8. Turkey

The staple of Thanksgiving, turkey is often very good. Delicious, in fact. Then why do I place it in the bottom half? For one simple reason: it’s not exceptional. Every year, you know exactly what the turkey will taste like. A little dry, slightly spiced, but mostly bland and boring. The second the turkey finds a way to give my tastebuds exactly what I’m looking for, it will skyrocket into the top three.

Much like turkey, corn is ranked this lowly because of its regularity. All of the foods above this ranking have more positive qualities to them. Corn fits perfectly into seventh place.

6. Cranberry Sauce (canned)

“Wait a minute,” you might be thinking, “didn’t you already write a whole paragraph about why cranberry sauce is bad?” I did, but that paragraph was about homemade cranberry sauce, not canned. And canned cranberry sauce is a whole other ordeal. It tastes wonderfully artificial, and the best part is the indentations that the can leaves on the gelatinous blob of cranberry sauce. I would rank this higher, but there are more wonderful foods that take up the top five.

5. Peas

The magical vegetable: both nutritious and delicious. Peas can go with basically any meal, which is great, because they’re amazing. Peas are easy to cook as well, just get the steam-in-bag ones and microwave them for six minutes. Voila! Peas!

4. Rolls

Contrary to turkey and corn, the simplicity of a roll makes it wonderful. In between bites of flavor, you can enjoy some perfectly textured, perfectly baked bread. Although buttering your roll is by no means necessary, it adds just enough to solidify a roll’s role as comfort food.

3. Sweet Potatoes

I know, I know, I placed potatoes second-to-last just to put their superior cousin in third place. Honestly, though, sweet potatoes are everything that regular potatoes are not. They taste good, they compliment the dishes that they’re in and they can be enjoyed in a variety of formats, from mashed to steamed to baked. Sweet potatoes are far better then their bland counterparts, and anyone who thinks otherwise doesn’t know what they’re talking about.

2. Stuffing

Like rolls but better, stuffing is a traditional Thanksgiving food that perfectly compliments the rest of the plate. While the dietary makeup of rolls and stuffing is very similar, they differ in a major way, which gives stuffing the extra push to second place. And it is: stuffing is more flavorful than rolls. While this makes it slightly less versatile, it also makes it more delicious. And the slight decline in versatility doesn’t really matter for stuffing, as it’s only eaten around Thanksgiving. Definitely an amazing food, but not quite first place.

1. Pumpkin Pie

Imagine this: you’ve just finished a wonderful Thanksgiving meal. Stuffing, sweet potatoes, and peas are being digested in your stomach as you recline in your chair, content. Then, your grandmother brings out the final dish, the top of the pyramid, the Thanksgiving food ranked in first place: the pumpkin pie. You cut yourself a slice, adorn it with whipped cream, grab your fork and take a small bite from the edge of the pie. Immediately, the flavors of autumn hit your taste buds and the deliciousness of the best Thanksgiving food serves as the perfect end to an amazing dinner.

Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy your time off and all the events that this autumn season brings. Spend time with family and friends, take time to recharge, and eat all your favorites on your Thanksgiving table!