It is wonderfully satisfying to work in the kitchen with fresh cranberries. Their colors are the flames and russets and golds of autumn, and their flesh is crisp, like that of just-picked McIntosh apples. Cranberries cook quickly, do not demand painstaking preparation, and are plentiful and inexpensive. They can be bought fresh during the fall and early winter and kept frozen whole in plastic bags, for use later in the year.
Well over half the nation’s cranberry crop is grown in Massachusetts bogs; it’s the state’s major claim to agricultural fame. Harvesting methods have changed little over the centuries; they reach a spectacular climax when the bogs are flooded and shoals of bright cranberries wash up in the waves of the bogs’ lee shores. Something over two million barrels and boxes of cranberries are harvested each year.
Cranberries were called “ibimi” (bitter berry) by the Wampanoag Indians, who helped the Pilgrims survive their first harsh winter in Plymouth. Soon the newcomers had renamed the fruit “Crane berry” in recognition of the color and shape of the blossom, and it soon became an important commercial product. Packed in water, the berries were shipped worldwide as ships’ provisions, to help combat scurvy.
Today, cranberries are a growing part of the nouvelle cuisine because of their low calorie count and their tartness – and their bright colors add considerably to presentations.
A pound of raw cranberries contains 200 calories, 2 grams of protein, 3 grams of fat, and 47 grams of carbohydrate. Cranberries are rich in calcium, phosphorus, potassium and Vitamin A, and are a particularly good source of Vitamin C.
Always wash cranberries thoroughly before using them, and pick them over and discard bruised or damaged ones. Before cranberries are shipped, they areput through separators and bounced to determine their soundness. To pass, they must bounce over berries four inches high. If you’re not sure whether your cranberries are fresh, drop one or two from a height of six inches onto your kitchen counter; the berries should bounce back about half that height. If they don’t, don’t use them.
Cranberry growers hire beekeepers to bring bebhives to the bogs while the cranberries are in flower in late June and July, because the intense pollination vastly increases yields. It’s well worth the effort to track down cranberry honey in specialty food stores; it’s especially delicate and aromatic.
The cranberry’s natural tartness, softened by sugar or honey, lends itself to the following sauces.
Cranberry and Honey meat sauce
Rind of 2 oranges 4 cups cranberries 1 cup honey
1. In a saucepan dissolve the water and sugar; boil the syrup for 4 to 5 minutes.
2. Add the cranberries, orange juice, and cinnamon stick, and boil gently. Remove the cinnamon stick after 5 minutes; continue boiling cranberries gently until the skins burst (about 5 more minutes). Skim off any froth.
3. Remove from heat and stir in the orange rind.
4. Pour mixture into one large or several smaller molds, and chill until firm.
Spicy cranberry meat sauce
Makes 1 pint
1 pound cranberries 1/2 cup finely chopped onion 1/2 cup water 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup white vinegar 1 teaspoon each of salt, ground clove, cinnamon, celery seed, and allspice teaspoon pepper
1. Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, then remove from heat.
2. Two thirds of the way through the planned time for the roast, spoon one third of the cranberry mixture over it. Fifteen minutes before the roast is to be done, spoon another third of the cranberry mixture over it. Five minutes before the roast is done, spoon the remaining mixture over it. (Note: It may take 5 to 10 minutes extra roasting time because the temperature of the oven will be lowered by opening it three times.)
