No one likes to get pushed around. Somehow, the early retail presence of all things Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hanukkah in October feels like we are getting nudged. Stop the pushing.
In the orbit of fresh produce, we take our cues from truly seasonal vegetables and fruits.
Import purchases make eating avocados, corn and tomatoes a year-round culinary possibility. There are still a few American grown items that completely set a tone for “here today, gone tomorrow” enjoyment. Fresh cranberries are indeed a seasonal harbinger.
Native to North America, cranberries are a powerhouse of nutrition with substantial health benefits. Antioxidant-rich, they hold the magic for a multitude of conditions from prevention to remedy.
This fall fruit darling is harvested beginning in September and goes through mid-November in states like Washington, Oregon and Michigan. Wisconsin and Massachusetts are the two largest producers in the United States.
Cranberries grow on low-lying vines in impermeable beds layered with sand, peat, gravel and clay. These beds are known as “bogs” or “marshes” and were originally created by glacial deposits.
Commercial bogs use a system of wetlands, uplands, ditches, flumes, ponds and other water bodies that provide a natural habitat for a variety of plant and animal life.
Most cranberries are wet harvested when growers flood their bogs. They then use harvesting machines that loosen the cranberries from the vines. Air chambers in the cranberry’s center allows it to float to the water’s surface. The berries are then corralled and transferred to a truck for transporting.