The large, plump, cranberries, along with blue berries and Concord grapes, are native to America. Native Americans used a mixture of crushed cranberries, ground venison, and fat, called pemmican, as a survival food. Benzoic acid in the cranberry acts as a preservative to the meat. Cranberries are sometimes called ‘bear berries’ because the bears are fond of them. A smaller variety of cranberry is cultivated in Europe.
Cranberries may be ‘dry harvested’ by picking the fruit directly from the plant in the field, or they may be ‘wet harvested’. This process requires that the field be flooded the night before the harvest. Machines that look like a ‘stern wheeler’ river boat churn the water, causing the berries to dislodge and float to the surface where they are gathered.
There are two varieties of cranberry produced in North America , the familiar red cranberry and the white cranberry that matures earlier. Cranberry growing is a delicate art, requiring four years for the plant to produce its first crop. The timing of the harvest is variable from year to year, depending of the climatic conditions.
Cranberries may be preserved by drying like raisins, they may be processed as juice, and of course, that are available as canned Cranberry sauce, either as whole berries or as a puree. They are also available as fresh berries, which presents them as an entirely different food, being tart and full flavored. In any form, they are an excellent garnish for meats and they are, of course, especially popular during the holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas.
