What is a cranberry?

The cranberry is a low growing perennial vine native to bogs and marshes throughout the eastern United States and Canada. Under cultivation the vines are grown and trained in what are called ‘beds’ where the vegetative growth is ideally less than 8 inches above the ground. A common misconception is that cranberries grow in water, due to the bias of visuals coming from the harvest season when water is used. In fact beds with standing water for too long will lead to root rot, causing unnecessary stress or death of the vines.

The cranberry’s western scientific name was originally published in Hortus Kewensis volume 2, issue 13 in 1789 by William Aiton as Vaccinium macrocarpon. The genus contains multiple species of edible berries including close cousins to the cranberry, which are sometimes called and marketed as “cranberry” outside of the United States. The common name evolved from settler variations of ‘crane-berry’ due to the resemblance the plant’s tiny blossoms has with the head of the local sandhill crane. This common name has had it confused with another local plant, the highbush cranberry, which is a small shrub with bright red fruit clusters.

Though the East Coast has some of the oldest beds, often globular, and the longest commercial history going back over 200 years, Wisconsin has in the late 20th century become the leader nationwide producing 62% of the country’s cranberries. The cranberry has also become Wisconsin’s state fruit, and the largest fruit crop in both value and size. The center of production can be found in the southwest quarter of the state, around the village of Warrens, an area rich in sand deposits left from a large lake during the last glacial period. Other growing areas include: Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington, parts of Canada mainly in Quebec, and a bit in Chile. These facts and so much more can be found on the Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association’s website. 

Harvest

Historically, cranberries were harvested by hand and with cranberry rakes till the mid-20th century. Today, most growers use water to flood the beds a few inches above the vines to take advantage of the fruit’s ability to float. The fruit comes to surface after being knocked off the vines which is then corralled into a corner for ‘picking up’. Cranberries harvested this way are cleaned and sent to a freezer for processing on a later date. About 5% of Wisconsin’s crop is harvested without water, using mechanical rakes, to supply the fresh fruit market. The fruit is sorted and bagged, often on-site, and then sent straight to markets around the world.

For a visual tutorial of the growing season, including harvest, please watch the video below. It along with many other educational recourses were made by Pamela Verhulst cranberry consultant extraordinaire and co-founder, along with Heidi Slinkman, of the Cranberry STEAM Learning Project. Follow Pamela on instagram @ladybugipm.wi for more on cranberry education including: pest, diseases, pollination, development, nutrition, food safety (GMPs & traceability) & quality.

End Products

Fresh cranberries have countless uses in and outside the kitchen. With their tough skin and high acidity, fresh cranberries can last a long time in a refrigerator assuming they are stored dry. You can tell they have gone off when they become soft. For cat owners, some loose cranberries on the floor can be a fun toy for weeks!

Cranberry juice is by far the most popular format coming in a range of colors from white, to pink, to red depending on the color and quantity of fruit used. Unfortunately, many cranberry juice products have apple or pear as the first ingredient to make them more “drinkable” meaning cranberry content can be as low as 27% or 5%. With many front panel labels marketing the benefit of the cranberry for urinary tract health, the high sugar content is as a result, counterproductive. The palatability and availability of high-content cranberry juice products is on the rise as production processes improve and demand increases as more insight into the health potential of the fruit becomes known.

The other central format for the cranberry is dried. Unsweetened cranberries are hard to find, but are produced in Wisconsin by Honestly Cranberry. The main format seen on shelves are lightly sweetened leaving them soft and plump and commonly called “Craisins”. The word is trademarked by the largest producer/co-op in the industry, Ocean Spray; thus, all other production is technically called, “un/sweetened dried”. If there is another botanical in the ingredient list such as, beet, elderberry, or purple carrot, they are added for color due to various reasons, mainly process, and over extraction for juice. Dried cranberries are sold straight, used in cereals, granola, energy bars etc…

In addition to fresh, juice, and dried, sauces and relishes are staples in American kitchens come November. Sauces are great made with simmered, or baked cranberries using either fresh or frozen fruit, citrus juice and zest, and some sweetener. A secret of home cooks across Wisconsin is to add a jigger of brandy right before the end of cooking for a little extra “flavor”. For crisp, crunchy relishes, one MUST use fresh fruit since freezing breaks cell walls resulting in soft fruit. Both sauces and relishes are great on winter squash, any potatoes, in smoothies, on ice cream—you name it!

Health

The cranberry does pack a healthy punch! Take a look at this long awaited study recently published on August 11th, 2020 discussing what it takes for the cranberry to have an impact on Helicobacter pylori. It was determined that a twice daily consumption of proanthocyanidin standardized cranberry juice may help potentiate suppression of H. pylori infection. The article is open access, with a PDF in link.

Suppression of Helicobacter pylori infection by daily cranberry intake: A double‐blind, randomized, placebo‐controlled trial

by Zhe Xuan Li et al
Abstract: Background and aimDietary strategies that contribute to reducing incidence of Helicobacter pylori infection without negative side effects are highly desirable owing to worldwide bacterial prevalence and carcinogenesis potential. The aim of this study was to determine dosage effect of daily cranberry consumption on H. pylori suppression over time in infected adults to assess the potential of this complementary management strategy in a region with high gastric cancer risk and high prevalence of H. pylori infection.

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