Produce Briefs...
White Corn
White corn is a sweet corn variety. Its ears are wrapped in tightly layered pale lime green to white husks. One ear of corn can contain up to 400 kernels growing in rows lengthwise.
Spring Onions
Spring onions are most often utilized raw. The whole onion can be flash blanched and grilled, which brings out more the robust and sweet elements of the onions, and makes them a bolder pair for fish and meats
Seasons/Availability
Fresh cranberries have a peak season in winter.
Current Facts
Cranberries are the fruit of a deep rooted evergreen shrub trailing plant of the genus, Vaccinium, the same genus that blueberries belong to. The cranberry received its original name, craneberry as a result of the plant's flower abstractly resembling the head of the Sand crane, which frequented the bogs that the cranberry plants were found growing in
Description/Taste
Cranberries are similar to olives and artichokes in the sense that each of these fruits must be altered from their raw stage to create a product that is truly palatable for human consumption. Raw cranberries are glossy and scarlet red in appearance, firm in texture with a bitter, starchy and tart flavor. Cranberries' culinary uses are primarily as a processed fruit: dried or frozen whole, canned or processed into fruit juices and sauces. Once juiced, cooked and processed, cranberries display the perfect sweet-tart ratio that is both quenching and nostalgically satisfying. The best fresh cranberries are not only firm to the touch but have a bouncing quality that is actually tested during harvest. The highest quality cranberries will bounce freely off a wooden surface.
Nutritional Value
Cranberries are well known for and continue to be heavily researched for the health benefits they provide. They are loaded with antioxidants, anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties. They contain high levels of phytonutrients, which provide their intense red coloring. These phytonutrients are actually enhanced by sunlight exposure, thus, inadvertently the method of harvesting floating cranberries allows the cranberries to develop greater concentrations of the antioxidant, anthocyanin. Cranberries also provide the benefit of preventing and reducing stomach ulcers and UTI's. Most important to note, cranberries must be eaten in a non processed form to provide the highest level of health benefits. Processing disrupts the antioxidant combination and decreases their level of synergistic benefits.
Applications
Cranberries are synonymous with Winter menus. The fruit makes a culinary addition to Holiday dishes both sweet and savory, cold or hot. Fresh cranberries can be combined with other fruits or soaked in other fruit juices with sugar to lower the fruit's intense tartness. Fresh fruit can be chopped and added to salad greens, soft cheeses or it can be cooked and reduced into a cranberry sauce, chutney or jelly. Dried cranberries can be included in salads, stuffings, breads, cookies and cakes. They are also a great pantry ingredient to have year round for snacks, salads and trail mixes. Fresh cranberries can also be juiced individually or added to juice blends and beverages.
Geography/History
As tradition historically suggests, the cranberry is native to North America. Prior to any settlers arriving in America the plant was flourishing wild in acidic bogs throughout Northeastern United States and Canada. Cranberries grow wild and have been naturalized in other regions of the Northern Hemisphere, including Northern Europe and Northern Asia. On a commercial scale, cranberries are water cultivated in bogs. This allows for the buoyant berries to simply float on the water's surface for easy harvest.
Featured Restaurants
Restaurants currently purchasing this product as an ingredient for their menu.
| US Grant Hotel Grill | San Diego CA | 619-232-3121 |
Recipe Ideas
Recipes that include Cranberries. One
is easiest, three is harder.Recently Spotted
People have spotted Cranberries using the Specialty Produce app for iPhone and Android.
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Ocado Yorkshire Near Bradford, United Kingdom About 73 days ago Spotter's comments : Frozen Publix Near Newberry, Florida, United States About 121 days ago |
