Cranberries, A Wonder Food That Tastes Great And Nutritious.

What is the 'cranberry berry', and why is it so good for you?


The Cranberry shrub is a humble evergreen dwarf shrub commonly found growing in bitter fens in the chillier regions of the northern parts of the USA.

The actual berry of the cranberry shrub initially appears as a simple white colour, but as it grows and becomes ripe it turns a rich burgundy color.

Although it belongs in exactly the same family as the bilberry and the blueberry, the cranberry is a bit a lot more sharp, which helps to act as a counterbalance to the pleasant sweetness, a fact which puts it in that unique niche in the world of food of ingredients that can be served with meat and poultry based recipes and also sweeter courses, such as cakes, cookies, fruits, pastries and candies.

Cranberries possibly were given their name based on the belief that they are often consumed by cranes - although some experts suspect that the true etymology of the name is rooted in the fact that in the the early days of the plant's growth, it seems to resemble the outline of the crane. Regardless of the explanation, the name is now well known through the known world.

Cranberries are a huge economic cash-crop in some northern US States, and enjoy a really unique role in Us culture as some historians believe that they were offered to starving colonists by the native inhabitants. As a result, cranberry sauce is a crucial piece of the old fashioned thanksgiving meal eaten by the majority of Americans every year.

The majority of the yearly cranberry production is turned into cranberry juice and cranberry jelly, however a larger proportion of it is now traded in its raw berry state due to health claims that cranberry is one of the 'superfoods', believed to have very beneficial nutrition content and antioxidant qualities.

In early times, cranberries were grown in cranberry beds positioned in damp wetlands, however in more recent times the cranberry beds are located in elevated locations with a water table that is on the shallow side. Here, contrary to percieved wisdom, the beds are not kept permanently submerged but are continually irrigated to maintain a significant water level in the beds.

Cranberry juice is now available all over the world, and as an alternative to the better known 'burgundy' juice, is also on the shelves as a white juice which is made from the younger berries.

Medicinal properties of cranberries

Many people think that cranberry juice is blessed with medical properties that aid in preventing bacterialogical infections in the urinary tract.

Additionally, it has been used for a number of other troubles, such as a remedy for infected wounds, diarrhoea, diabetes, stomach aches, and as an aid to a problem liver. A little research has been carried out that proves that habitual doses of cranberry berry juice may also help to lower the chances of coronary problems.

As with all similar health claims, one must practice extreme vigilance - professional opinion is not 100% in agreement and the correct reason for eating these versatile berries is the observable fact they really actually taste good! As stated beforehand, these versatile berries are used in preparing both sweet and meat based recipes, with an extremely popular use being as an accompaniment to the beloved roast turkey. Don't let this 'regular' use put you off though, these versatile and tasty berries are also quite superb when used in sweet dishes.


If you want to try cooking some tasty recipes using cranberries you can find plenty of these tasty recipes on the web, but to start you off properly, here is a flavorful cranberry recipe:



Delicious cranberry crumble recipe

Ingredient list


1 Orange (preferably thick-skinned)

one cup of water

half a cup Granulated sugar (or equivalent sugar substitute)

4 cups These versatile berries

one tbsp Unsalted butter

1 pck Biscuit dough (to cook eight biscuits).



Preparation


Grate the rind of the orange, and reserve. Juice the rest of the orange. Mix juice of the orange, orange rind, moisture, sugar (granulated), cranberries & butter in a non-stick pan. Heat until boiling and boil gently for one minute until you have a nice thick sauce.

Divide the cranberry sauce evenly amongst eight buttered oven-proof baking dishes or a medium sized casserole dish. Spoon the biscuit dough on top of the sauce.

Cook at 230 c (450 f) for ten minutes, lower heat setting and oven bake at 350 f for another 20 mins.

makes 8 servings.

98 calories per portion