CRANBERRY SECRETS

Fresh and juicy berries hanging from a branch… Almost all of us look forward to summer in order to enjoy these natural and tasty treats. But most berries are not only delicious but also nutritious for our bodies.

The American cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) belongs to the Ericaceae family. The evergreen low shrubs or vines with ascending branches usually grow on wet acidic soils mainly in North America, Canada and in parts of Europe. The leaves are 10-20 mm long. The plant bears white or pink flowers that later turn into sour reddish berries.

Useful Components

• Vitamins A, B6, C, E, K,
• Fiber
• Manganese
• Lutein
• Quercetin
• Proanthocyanidins
• Flavonols

Interesting Cranberry Facts

• Cranberries are most often associated with Thanksgiving and Christmas as it’s traditional to serve turkey and other festive dishes with some cranberry sauce.
• Actually, cranberries don’t grow in the water. The bogs are flooded for harvesting purpose and the berries float to the top.
• Originally, cranberries were used to cure meat, dye fabric.
• Cranberries got their name from a bird called crane as their flowers resemble the head and the bill of this bird.
• Only 5 % of cranberries are sold as fresh berries. In fact, they have a little bitter, sour and astringent taste.
• Americans consume around 400 million pounds of cranberries every year.
• Immature berries usually are white; ripe berries are red. As a rule, cranberries are harvested in September or October.

Methods of Use

Cranberries can be used in a great variety of ways, e. g. in the form of juice, herbal tea, compote, jelly, sauce, wine, dried berries, powdered concentrates, supplements, capsules, extracts. 

Now in our rubric of useful tips we are glad to offer you a simple recipe for a traditional Thanksgiving cranberry sauce.

Cranberry Sauce Recipe

What you need:

• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 cup of water
• 4 cups of fresh or frozen cranberries
• If you like you can also add raisins, orange zest, cinnamon, blueberries, currants, etc.

Take cranberries and rinse them. Then boil water, add sugar and stir until the sugar dissolves completely. After that add cranberries to this mixture and simmer for about 10 minutes until the berries burst. At this stage you can add any other optional ingredients that you prefer. Then remove the sauce from the heat, cool at room temperature and only after that put into the refrigerator. As it cools the sauce becomes thicker.

Enjoy this wonderful sauce with your dishes!