How to cook cranberries

Family – Ericaceae
Scientific name – Vaccinium macrocarpon, Vaccinium oxycoccus

Common name – cranberry, bounceberry, lingonberry

Cranberries, which are native to North America, are small, smooth-skinned, round berries that are glossy deep red to red-maroon. About one-third of an inch in diameter and half-inch to an inch long, the cranberry has seeds that are attached to the center of the fruit and are surrounded by a tart white pulp. Also called bounceberries, because they bounce when ripe, cranberries belong to the same family as blueberries and huckleberries; but unlike these fruits, cranberries are too tart to eat raw.

Cranberries are divided into three types. The most common is the large Vaccinium macrocarpon, grown for commercial purposes. Vaccinium oxycoccus, commonly called the mossberry or small cranberry, is found wild in some areas. Vaccinium vitis-idaea, or the lingonberry, grows well in very cold climates and is currently being developed as a crop in several eastern European countries.

Cranberries grow on a flat, woody, evergreen “vine” that thrives in acidic soil. Cranberry vines are planted in peat bogs prepared in a way that allows the plants to be covered with water to protect them from cold damage. The pink or purple cranberry flowers can be self-pollinated, but crop yield is much greater when bees are used to facilitate pollination. The berries are borne on short uprights 6 to 8 inches in length that rise from a dense mass of stems on the soil surface.

Cranberries are extensively cultivated for commercial use in the northern states. Massachusetts is the largest producer, followed by Wisconsin, New Jersey, Washington, and Oregon. Cranberry cultivation is also common throughout Canada. Harvested between Labor Day and Halloween, cranberries enjoy their peak market season from October through December.

How to cook cranberries

The Pilgrims dined on cranberry dishes at the first Thanksgiving in 1621. Once only a traditional holiday food, cranberries are now consumed throughout the year as juice drinks, dried snacks, sauces, and relishes. Because of their sour taste, they must be combined with sweet foods such as sugar or orange juice to make them palatable. Only about 10 percent of the commercial crop is sold fresh; the rest is processed into juice or canned cranberry sauce.

Cranberry juice cocktail is considered effective for preventing or treating urinary tract infections, in part because of its high acidity and its ability to inhibit bacteria from adhering to the lining of the urinary tract.

Fresh cranberries are a good source of vitamin C. In addition, they contain bioflavonoids, plant pigments with antioxidant properties.