The fruit, not the rock and roll band! The cranberry is a low creeping shrub sure puts out a super fruit that rocks! This fruit was used not only as food, but as dye for clothing! And, the fruit offers many health benefits.
Cranberries by Liz West
There are three varieties of cranberry. All of the varieties can be found in the northern portion of the northern hemisphere in cool regions. The common cranberry is found in northern Asia, Europe and North America. This plant puts out a small pale pink, highly acidic berry on hairy stems. The small cranberry is found in northern Asia and Europe, and the only difference between this one and the common is that the stems on this plant are not hairy. Then there is the large cranberry. This cranberry is native to North American and is found in Eastern Canada and the northeastern U.S. The fruit on this plant have a slightly apple-like flavor.
Only 5% of all cranberries harvested are sold to consumers as fruit. The remaining 95% are processed into juice, sauces or as dried. The flavor on this fruit is too sharp and too bitter to be eaten plain. The fruit is mostly used for juice that is sweetened and blended with other juices. It is also used to make wine. And when cooked this fruit is used as a sauce, which we enjoy here is the U.S. along with our Thanksgiving turkey!
History shows that the fruit was used to dye cloth. The fruit was cooked in water, the berries crushed after 15 minutes on the stove top, and left to cook another 15 minutes. Then the fruit skins were strained out of the “broth” and this is what the cloth was put into to pick up the color. The longer the material sits in the broth, the brighter the color. This can still be done today.
Cranberries are loaded with Vitamin C! History shows us that they used the fruit to help against scurvy. You can get 16% of the recommended daily requirement of Vitamin C from a serving of cranberries. It is also high in dietary fiber. It also can be of benefit against urinary tract infections. Researchers are investigating the use of cranberries against cardiovascular disease and for its cancer fighting properties.
If you are interested in what you can do in your kitchen with cranberries, then check out Grabbing the Gusto blog found here on WordPress at http://grabbingthegusto.wordpress.com/tag/cranberries/ by Deirdre Reid!
Life in the Foothills 