Ingredient: Cranberries
Category: Fruit - Soft
Season: November
Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the genus Vaccinium subgenus Oxycoccus, or in some treatments, in the distinct genus Oxycoccus.
They are found in acidic bogs throughout the cooler parts of the Northern Hemisphere.
Cranberries are a major commercial crop in certain US states and Canadian provinces (see "Cultivation and Uses" below).
Most cranberries are processed into products such as juice, sauce, and sweetened dried cranberries, with the remainder sold fresh to consumers.
Cranberry sauce is regarded an indispensable part of traditional American and Canadian Thanksgiving menus and European winter festivals.
Since the early 21st century within the global functional food industry, there has been a rapidly growing recognition of cranberries for their consumer product popularity, nutrient content and antioxidant qualities, giving them commercial status as a novel "super fruit"
Cranberries are related to the bilberries, blueberries, and huckleberries, all in Vaccinium subgenus Vaccinium. These differ in having stouter, woodier stems forming taller shrubs, and in the bell-shaped flowers, the petals not being reflexed. Some plants of the completely unrelated genus Viburnum are sometimes inaccurately called "high bush cranberries".
Uses
Cranberries as fruit are served as a compote or jelly, often known generically as cranberry sauce.
Such preparations are traditionally served with roast turkey meat and are considered by some to be a staple of English Christmas dinners, and the Canadian and US holiday Thanksgiving.
The berry is also used in baking (muffins, scones and cakes) but, unlike many other berries, is normally considered too sharp to be eaten unaccompanied.
Fresh cranberries can be frozen at home, and will keep up to nine months; they can be used directly in recipes without thawing.
Cranberry juice, usually sweetened to reduce its natural severe tartness and make "cranberry juice cocktail" or blended with other fruit juices, is a major use of cranberries.
Cranberries have moderate levels of vitamin C, dietary fiber and the essential dietary mineral, manganese, as well as a balanced profile of other essential micronutrients.
By measure of the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity with an ORAC score of 9,584 units per 100 g, cranberry ranks near the top of 277 commonly consumed foods in the United States
When the last of the autumn fruits have disappeared, November brings in a fresh crop of these dazzling scarlet berries with their rich juice and sharp flavour.
Testing their freshness – bounce them, the higher they bounce the fresher they are!
Always keep cranberry jelly in your cupboard – it’s good as an instant accompaniment to chicken or game, or can be used in sauces. |