Long before European settlers arrived, Native American tribes knew the superpowers of cranberries. The cranberry, native to the bogs of northeastern North America, belongs to the widespread Heather family (Ericaceae). This family ranges from polar regions to the tropics in both hemispheres. It includes blueberries, lingonberries, huckleberries and bilberries.
The Algonquin, Chippewa and Cree and many other tribes, gathered wild cranberries in what is now Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Wisconsin, all the way west to Oregon and Washington, and north to parts of British Columbia and Quebec. Native Indians ate their cranberries (sasemineash, ibimi or pakimintzen) raw, pounded them with deer meat and fat into dried travel food called pemmican, used them as laxative, blood purifier, to treat fever and stomach cramps and as clothing dye. High vitamin C content and protective phytonutrients and antioxidants made cranberries welcome on long sea voyages to help prevent disease and scurvy.
In the United States commercial cranberry cultivation started in 1816. Revolutionary War veteran Henry Hall, noticed cranberry vines thriving in sand on Cape Cod. His Yankee ingenuity took over. He planted the first successful commercial cranberry beds in Dennis, Massachusetts. Other farmers followed. Across the northern United States, Canada and Chile farmers cultivate over 58,000 acres of cranberries.
Cranberry harvest occurs between September and October in the U.S. and Canada. Farmers use two methods. Most common is wet or water harvest. Workers flood cranberry bogs (originally created by glacial deposits); a specialized “eggbeater” loosens the fruit. It floats to the surface of the ponds. Workers in waders then corral the berries and vacuum them into trucks. Wet harvested fruit is usually processed into juice and sauce. Mechanized picking machines dry harvest fruit by “combing” them off the vines into burlap sacks. No water is involved. Workers ship the fresh whole berries to receiving stations where they are cleaned and packaged.
Canned cranberry sauce burst onto the scene in 1912. A lawyer, Marcus L. Urann, decided to buy a cranberry bog and produce canned cranberry sauce. He formed a cranberry cooperative that eventually became Ocean Spray. Urann likely fathered National Cranberry Relish Day; it falls on Nov. 22, the day before Thanksgiving. If you’re devoted to canned cranberry sauce, you’re not alone. Most of America grew up with the beloved sliced rounds of the quivering ruby jelly on their Thanksgiving table.
It’s a joy to discover the taste of cooked, fresh cranberry sauce and raw cranberry relish. The sustaining foods of Thanksgiving, turkey, stuffing, bacon brussels sprouts, buttery mashed potatoes and gravy, need balance. That’s where cranberry relishes and sauces come in. Like a hit of lemon on a cheesy risotto or fried fish, they provide a tangy counter balance to the richness of the day. Even canned. They lend an indispensable blast of sweet-tartness and appealing color to an otherwise mono-colored meal. Experiment with your leftover sauce or relish and other foods.
Cranberries appeal to us because of their complex flavor and vivid color. They symbolize both the bitter and sweet aspects of life that shadow and nourish us through the fall and winter months. The future of cranberries may be undergoing a radical change though. Researchers at The University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed the experimental “Sweetie” cranberry, a variety that tastes so sweet it doesn’t require sugar. The “Sweetie” could shift our mouth-puckering-bitter-blasting cranberry obsession into candy. Bland and one-dimensional? Yikes. I’m sticking with our 12,000 year old brash tart-talking variety.
Raw Cranberry and Fuyu Persimmon Relish
Tart cranberries combine perfectly with persimmons. For this cranberry relish, use Fuyu persimmons, which may be eaten while still firm like apples. They are shaped like small pumpkins and are bright orange when ripe.
— Adapted from Anna Thomas
Yields around 2½ cups
12 oz. fresh cranberries
1 large navel orange, preferably organic
2 to 3 Fuyu persimmons (8 oz.)
Pinch sea salt
1/4 C. sugar or maple syrup, more to taste
2 to 3 t. fresh lemon juice
Wash cranberries well and pick over; discard soft ones. Scrub and dry orange. Use a microplane to grate off zest; measure 2 teaspoons. Peel orange and remove white pith. Break orange into segments and cut each in half. Wash persimmons, trim away stems and cores. Dice them into roughly 1-inch pieces.
Combine cranberries, zest, peeled orange segments, persimmons and a pinch of salt in the container of the food processor. Pulse briefly. Add sweetener and 2 teaspoons lemon juice, pulse again and taste. Balance the flavors to your liking with more sweetener or lemon juice.
Pulse once more to blend seasonings; do not over-process. This relish should have a gravelly texture, with distinct pieces of persimmon evident among the cranberries.
Maple Cranberry Sauce
This cranberry sauce recipe is made with fresh cranberries, maple syrup and orange zest. Prepare sauce up to 2 days in advance. Cover and refrigerate, then let it warm to room temperature before serving.
Yields about 2 cups.
12 oz. fresh cranberries
1/3 to 1/2 C. maple syrup
Zest of 1 medium orange, preferably organic (about 1 teaspoon)
½ C. orange or apple juice or cider
Optional: ½ t. ground cinnamon or a grating of nutmeg
Rinse cranberries and drain. Pick through and discard soft ones. Zest orange on a Microplane grater or on the fine holes of a box grater and set aside. Juice the orange if using.
In a medium saucepan, combine cranberries, maple syrup and juice. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until cranberries have popped and mixture has thickened, 5 to 10 minutes.
Remove pot from heat and stir in orange zest. Stir in optional cinnamon or nutmeg. Taste. If mixture is too tart, slowly add more maple syrup to taste. The sauce will thicken as it cools. It will keep in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 2 weeks.
Cranberry, Pineapple and Orange Relish
Yields about 8 servings
4 C. (16-ounce bag) fresh or frozen cranberries
1 C. fresh pineapple, roughly diced
3 oranges, peeled, sectioned and diced, plus their juice
1/2 C. sugar
2 t. minced peeled fresh ginger
¼ C. finely sliced fresh mint leaves
Optional: ¼ C. finely diced red onion
Optional: freshly squeezed lemon juice
Pulse cranberries in food processor until chunky. Toss in pineapple, oranges, juice, sugar and ginger. Lightly pulse until a chunky relish forms.
Stir in mint and optional onion. Rest relish 1 hour or overnight in refrigerator so flavors marry. Taste. Add a pinch of salt, more sugar or optional fresh lemon juice as desired.