Cranberries
December 11, 2019
Did you know cranberries don’t actually grow in water?
Tart, red cranberries are delicious and healthy fruits that originated in North America. They have long been a staple for Indigenous communities, who recognized the nutritional and medicinal uses of the fruit, incorporating it in recipes like pemmican where the cranberry’s vitamins helped conserve other foods longer.
Today, cranberries are almost synonymous with holiday cooking. Whether they are made into sauce, added to baked goods, or used to flavour drinks, the versatile cranberry is a welcome addition to winter menus.
Did you know?
Cranberries don’t actually grow in water.
Cranberry plants grow in wet, but not flooded, acidic bogs. In cultivated areas, the bogs are intentionally flooded once the berries are ripe. The plants are then mechanically agitated to release the ripe berries from the vine. Each cranberry contains a small pocket of air that allows it to float to the surface of the water where it’s then skimmed off.
Recipe: Apple-cranberry crisp
Looking for a delicious way to enjoy cranberries on a cold winter night? We are grateful to Claire Tansey, Canadian author of the cookbook Uncomplicated for sharing her simple five ingredient recipe for apple-cranberry crisp. Enjoy!
Serves six lucky folks
- ¾ cup (165 g) packed brown sugar
- ½ cup (75 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (115 g) butter, very cold from the fridge or freezer
- 6 medium apples (any type/mix)
- ⅓ cup dried unsweetened cranberries
To make the topping, stir the brown sugar with the flour in a large bowl. Grate in the cold butter using the large holes of a box grater. Toss the mixture to combine it and coat all the butter with the dry mixture.
Peel and slice the apples. Put the slices into a nine inch pie plate (or any similar-sized baking dish) and stir in cranberries. Sprinkle the butter mixture evenly over top. Place the pie plate on a baking sheet, then bake 35 to 45 minutes or until topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbly at the edges. Serve warm with ice cream or pouring cream.