Transcript Cooking With Cranberries

Cooking With Cranberries
Information provided by Recia Garcia
and Today’s Diet & Nutrition, Fall 2006
Exploring Cooking with Cranberries
• Cranberry – shiny scarlet berries grown in huge
sandy bogs on low, trailing vines
• One of the 3 American fruits that were indigenous to
the region (blueberry & Concord grape)
• Also referred to as “bounceberries” and
“craneberries”
• Grow in the wild in northern Europe and northern
climates of North America
Harvesting Cranberries
• Dry Method – produces fresh or frozen berries used
for cooking and baking
• Berries are combed from their vines with a mechanical
picker
• Wet Method- produces fruit used in juices, sauces, and
processed foods
• Farmers flood the bogs with water
– Next day, egg beater-like tools agitate the water and loosen
the berries from the vines
– Berries float to the surface, gathered, and processed
Visiting a cranberry farm
More about cranberries
• Harvested between Labor Day and Halloween
• Peak market period is from October through
December
• Some bogs are still producing after 100 years
• Only about 8% of the annual crop is allocated
to the fresh market
A little bit of cranberry history
• Native Americans of SW Massachusetts called
it sassamanash or ibimi meaning “bitter berry”
• The Native Americans considered it a symbol
of peace and they introduced it to the Pilgrims
in the 1600s
• The first known recipe for cranberry sauce
appeared in 1633 in The Pilgrim Cookbook
• The first commercial shipments of cranberries
were to Europe in the early 1820’s.
A little bit of cranberry history
• 19th Century sea traders stocked their ships
with cranberry juice to ward off scurvy and
other Vitamin C deficiencies.
• Native Americans used cranberries for
consumption as well as the juice to treat
arrow wounds and dye blankets.
• Cape Cod has largest production of cranberries
Autumn in Cape Cod
• Home to more than half of the ninehundred-plus cranberry bogs in SW
Massachusetts
• Several vacation spots “showcase” the
cranberries with hiking trails that
overlook the bogs or you can choose to
harvest your own snack
Research
• Research has shown:
– Drinking 2 servings of cranberry juice
cocktail can help women maintain healthy
urinary tract and prevent infections
• Compounds called cranberry proanthocyanidins keep
bacteria from sticking to the urinary tract
– Cranberries have the highest concentration
of total antioxidants which prevent CVD
and decrease the risk of chronic diseases
Research
• Research is looking into:
– Cranberries may be a weapon against bacteriarelated conditions like dental caries, gum disease,
and ulcers
– May prevent fungal conditions like yeast infections
– May prevent certain flu viruses from attaching to
host cells and causing illness
– May be a natural preservative that can help defend
against food poisoning caused by Salmonella, E.
coli, and other types of bacteria
Storing cranberries
• They can be stored fresh up to 2 months
in the refrigerator or up to a year frozen
• Do not wash the cranberries before
freezing
Cooking with cranberries
• Americans consume more than 350 million
pounds each year
– 73 million during Thanksgiving
• When ready to use, simply wash them briefly,
pick out stems, and place directly into recipe
without thawing
• If thawed first, the cranberries are likely to
collapse
• Cranberries should be hard, with a bright red
to dark red color
Cooking with cranberries
• Cook cranberries only until they “pop”
• Over-cooking will make them taste bitter
• Cranberries need a little sweetness to balance
their acidic flavor.
• Add sugar, honey, or fruit syrup when cooking
• High pectin content of cranberries makes
them a natural choice for jams and jellies
Nutritional information
• 1 cup chopped =
53.9 kcal
0.4 g Protein
13.9 g CHO
4.6 g Fiber
95 g Water
78.1 mg Potassium
14.9 mg Vit C
50.6 IU Vit A
Recipe for today
• Cranberry Vanilla Smoothie (pg 40)