The Cranberry bush is an interesting looking evergreen shrub commonly grown in acidic wetlands in the cooler areas of North America.



The berry of the cranberry shrub starts as a simple pale white color, but as it develops and becomes ripe it turns a rich cherry hue.

Although it belongs in exactly the same family as the bilberry and the blueberry, the cranberry berry is a little added tart, which, as a consequence helps to complement the pleasant sweetness, which puts it in that unique niche in the world of food of berries that work well with meat based dishes as well as cakes, cookies and fruit desserts.

Cranberries most likely got their name as a result of the, perhaps mistaken, belief that they are usually eaten by cranes (ie 'craneberry') - although a few people believe that the true etymology of the name is based on the undeniable fact that in the earlier stages of the bush's growth, it looks a little bit like the shape of the crane. Whatever the reason, the name 'cranberry' is now well established throughout the civilised world.

Cranberries are now a great financial cash crop in a few northern US States, and now have a really unique and historic place in The traditional culture of the US as some historians believe that they were supplied to hungry colonists by the original native inhabitants. Because of this, cranberry sauce is a principal piece of the old fashioned thanksgiving meal enjoyed by millions of Americans ever since.

The majority of the yearly cranberry production is converted to juice and cranberry jelly, but a larger proportion of it is now sold in its raw and unprocesed state as a consequence of health claims that it is one of the 'superfoods', and believed to have extremely efficient nutritional content and antioxidant 'reducing agent' characteristics.

In early days, these versatile berries were cultivated in 'beds' located in damp swamp, however lately the cultivation is done in upland areas with an 'easy to access' water table. In these more modern cranberry beds, contrary to the percieved wisdom, the cranberry beds are not kept permanently submerged but are constantly irrigated to ensure that there is a sensible water content in the soil.

Cranberry juice is now available all over the world, and as an alternative to the commonly availible 'scarlet' juice, is also produced in a clear or 'white' juice which is made from younger fruit.

Cranberries' health benefits

Some experts think that cranberry juice possesses theraputic benefits that assist in preventing infections in the urinary tract.

In addition, this delicious berry has been usedl in dealing with a number of other problems, such as a remedy for flesh wounds, bowel problems, diabetes mellitus, tummy aches, and as a tonic for a problem liver. A bit of research has been done that indicates that consistent drinking of cranberry juice could help lower the risk of heart problems.

Of course, as with all similar claims, you must exercise serious caution - expert opinion is varied and the best reason for eating these versatile and tasty berries is the fact that they actually actually taste delicious! As detailed previously, cranberries are used to make both desserts and main course meals, with the most widely known use being as an accompaniment to the beloved roast turkey. Don't let this 'good old fashioned' use put you off though, cranberry berries are also quite superb when used in sweet dishes.

If you are looking for some yummy recipes using cranberries there are plenty of them online, but in case you can't wait, here is a flavourful cranberry recipe:

Cranberry cobbler recipe

Ingredients

1 Orange (preferably thick-skinned)

one cup of water

1/2 cup Granulated sugar (or equivalent sugar substitute)

4 cup These versatile and tasty berries

1 x tablespoon Unsalted butter

one package Dough for biscuits (to do eight biscuits).

Instructions

First grate the rind of the orange, and put one one side. Put the remainder of the orange through a juicer. Mix the juice, grated rind, moisture, granulated sugar replacement, cranberries and unsalted butter in a medium non-stick pan. Heat until boiling and cook for one min until you have a rich sauce.

Spoon the sauce evenly into 8 buttered oven-proof dishes or even into a medium sized casserole dish, if you wish. Top the sauce with biscuit dough.

Cook at 230 c (450 f) for ten min, reduce heat and oven bake at 180 c (350 f) for a further 20 minutes.

serves 8.

Each portion is less than 100 calories