A Berry Healthy Fruit

     Cranberries are now in season.  I picked up my first bag this week for use in my culinary creations.  The glossy, scarlet red very tart relative of the blueberry is now at it's peak.  It's just now hitting the store shelves after being harvested during their short season that runs from Labor Day to Halloween.  Typically they are grown in bogs and floated in water as a convenient method for farmers to harvest them.  But studies have shown that the water method also increases their potency in acting as both an antioxidant and an anti-inflammatory.

     It has long been believed that the cranberry, sometimes called the bounceberry (yes, ripe ones do bounce!) prevents urinary tract infections and scientific evidence has proven that to be true.  But they are also credited with inhibiting stomach ulcers and colon cancer.  They also support a healthy cardiovascular system and liver, lower harmful LDL, raise healthy HDL and aid in stroke recovery.  But a word of caution for those prone to kidney stones...consuming cranberries either whole on as juice can cause calcium formations to occur.

     Native Americans first harvested wild cranberries and cooked them, sweetening them with honey and maple syrup.  The First Americans also used them as a red dye and medicinally as a poultice for wounds.  No doubt cranberries were present on the table for that first Thanksgiving meal shared with their European guests.  By the 18th Century cranberries were being shipped to Europe.  And when a ship loaded with crates of the exports was destined for Holland wrecked and sank in the waters off the Dutch coast        some of the cranberries floated to shore along the island of Terschelling, took root and continue to produce fruit to this day.

     So now is the time to enjoy this seasonal berry in homemade relishes, sauces, as a welcome ingredient in granola and as a tart replacement for vinegar in salad dressing.

And here's a factoid for you...Wisconsin grows more cranberries than any other state with 60% of the annual national harvest.