Cranberries

This article was written by Rachel

( * Now this is an interview that I did regarding Cranberries and I hope you all liked this article and it was fun to do cause I like cranberries and with thanksgiving coming I thought that it would work *)

Dr. DooWitt is very partial to cranberries and when he was invited to a

cranberry farm he jumped at the chance! Wading knee deep in

cranberries – what fun!

Always wanting to know more, Dr. DooWitt found out that cranberries are a close cousin of the

huckleberry and are native to Canada. They grow in cool bogs and wet areas where there is acidic soil.

Early indigenous gatherers used the cranberries as a winter food source and because they kept people

healthy. They gathered berries in the fall and well into winter by visiting local bogs. Sometimes they

travelled to Burns Bog in the Fraser River delta as that bog was very rich in berries.

Sandhill Crane

Once the berries were gathered, they were either eaten fresh or saved for winter by storing them

under fresh water in containers.

Cranberry plants flower in the early summer of the third year, and the tiny pink blossoms are very

attractive to bees because the flowers are wide open for nectar gatherers. The berries are white at the

beginning of the fall and change to pink and then red when they are fully ripened.

The indigenous people introduced the early colonists to this fruit. Those

colonists also soon realized that cranberries could be kept over winter. Then

they found they could be grown where the soil is acidic like the bogs where

the cranberry grows naturally. Now they are grown commercially in fields that

have permanent irrigation and soil banks around that allow the fields to be

flooded for harvesting. Machines beat the berries off the bushes and the

berries float to the top of the water where they are collected. They float because

they have air sacs inside.

Today cranberry juice is very popular, while cranberry condiments and desserts

are a traditional favourite at Christmas and Thanksgiving, often in a sauce served

with turkey.

 It is very easy to make Cranberry Sauce from frozen or fresh cranberries. 

Here’s Dr. DooWitt’s recipe - WARNING! You MUST have an adult with

you, the sauce gets VERY HOT!

Ingredients

1 cup (250 mL) sugar

1 cup (250 mL) water

1 12-ounce pack (340 g) fresh or

frozen cranberries, rinsed and drained

Directions

1. Combine water and sugar in a medium saucepan.

2. Bring to boil; add cranberries, and let the mixture come back to the boil.

3. Reduce heat and boil gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Cover and cool completely at room temperature.

5. Refrigerate until serving time.