Vaccinium macrocarpon

Cranberries are popular berries that can be eaten raw, as a sauce, juice, or candied dry.

The cranberry is an evergreen, small bush from the family of Ericaceae and can grow up to 2 m wide and 25 cm high. The cranberry stems are wiry and crawly with dark green oval leaves. The berries are round, scarlet in color, nearly the size of a currant, and often sourish in taste.

Cranberries are grown in sour turf soil or airy, sandy, and semi-sandy soils. The American cranberry is grown intensely in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Wisconsin, as well as near the shore of the Pacific Ocean in Washington and Oregon. The cranberry harvest begins in September and continues throughout October. The cranberry plantations are usually being flooded and the ripe, floating fruits are being collected from the surface of the water.

The American cranberry is commercially the most important sort and is cultivated in most of the Southeast of the USA. It is robust, with round, long, or pear-shaped berries, whose colors can differ from pink to very dark red. The southern or marsh cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccos) is being cultivated in marshlands in the North of North America and Asia, as well as in North and Central Europe, and is locally important.

Cranberries offer a special amount of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. They are especially rich in vitamins C, E, and K1, manganese, and copper. Historically, cranberries were used as a cure for bladder and kidney problems by the native Americans, while the early settlers from England used it to cure low appetite, stomach, and blood problems.

In the kitchen, cranberries are used like any other berries, and they are especially popular for juices and jams.

Although a lot of nutrients are lost while dehydrating fresh cranberries, the dried cranberries still maintain antioxidant properties, flavonoids, and diet fiber. Since a large amount of water is being extracted during the dehydration, dried cranberries are also higher in calories than fresh ones, but tastier to eat because of their characteristic bittersweet taste.

Dried cranberries are a quick and light snack and they can be eaten directly from the package. Use them as a delicious addition to your trail mix, muffins, sweets, sauces, and salsas. Dried cranberries can be used in morning porridge or as an addition to chicken or turkey salads.