Production and Consumption of the Cranberry

There is more to the cranberry than the jellied sauce served at the Thanksgiving- and yes, more than the kind with the whole berries in it. Long ago, the Native Americans used it for dye and medicine. Now, a multitude of cranberry products in many different forms have been created.

Of course, cranberry sauce is the most familiar form- right down to the ring impressions left on the gelatinous cylinder as it plops out of the can. The high pectin content found in cranberries lends itself to making this festive fruit sauce. The pectin also makes the cranberry great for making jams and jellies. Another benefit of pectin is that cooking time for these products is short resulting in a minimal loss of nutrients.

Cranberry juice is another way to partake of this increasingly popular berry. However, because of the tartness of the berry, juices are generally sweetened or blended with other fruit juices to make it more palatable. This tartness is why raw fresh berries are rarely consumed by themselves and also why they make a great accessory to other dishes. White cranberry juice is made by harvesting the berries when they are ripe but have not yet achieved a deep red hue. This juice is milder than red cranberry juice, but has similar nutritive values. Cranberry herbal teas are another beverage choice for a hot or cold treat.

Dried cranberries are another popular form and keep for a very long time. After the berry is dried, it is typically injected with syrup, plain or infused with other fruit flavors, to sweeten it. This cranberry product can be enjoyed by itself, in fruit/nut mixes, or added to salads and puddings for a sweet-tart shot of nutrients and fiber.

Powdered cranberry is produced in tablet, capsule and concentrated forms. The skin, seeds and juice of the cranberry are used to make the powder. As a dietary supplement, these forms make getting a daily dose of cranberry easy and portable.

Cranberry oil is made from the seeds and skin of the berry and is used in all kinds of products from moisturizers, cosmetics, candles, fragrances and more. How the oil is extracted depends on the type of product being made. Steam distillation and cold-press extraction are two of the methods used to get the oil from the cranberry.

As long as they are kept in air-tight containers, cranberries are a great storage food because of their preservative properties. Fresh berries can be stored in the refrigerator for up to eight weeks. Dried berries will stay good for many months. Fresh, frozen berries last a year in the freezer. Cooked cranberries can be used for up to a month if kept in the refrigerator. Cranberry powder and oils can have a much longer life span, about two years, if stored properly.

When choosing fresh berries, make sure they are firm. In fact, the manner of weeding out bad berries is by bouncing them- the firmer the berry, the better the bounce. So, if you're not sure, bounce it. Also, look for a deep red color. Darker berries have the highest content of beneficial nutrients and antioxidants. Discard any berries with brown spots or broken skin. If these are stored with ripe berries, they will cause the good ones to deteriorate faster.

With the advancement in farming and production techniques and increased knowledge of the cranberry, it has certainly come a long way from that first can of cranberry sauce produced in 1912.