A beginner’s guide to cranberry! How to choose, store, cook, freeze, and eat fresh cranberries. Cranberry nutrition and benefits plus recipe ideas!
Hi, Rhubarbarians! Happy cranberry season!
Today we are talking all about our favorite fall berry: cranberries! The tart little fruits that are a holiday staple here in the US. You just can't have a Thanksgiving dinner without cranberry sauce on the table, right?
But cranberries are so much more than just a sweetened sauce on your holiday table. Here's your beginner's guide to these amazingly flavorful berries.
What are cranberries?
A cranberry is a fruit! It is a berry that grows on a low, creeping shrub. Raw cranberries are very tart and are rarely eaten raw as a snack. But, when cooked they become a bit sweeter and are one of the quintessential fruits of fall here in America.
When are cranberries in season?
Cranberries are in season from September to November here in the cooler, Northern US states.
How are cranberries grown?
Have you heard of a cranberry bog? Well.. that's not really how they are grown. The berries are grown on short shrubs. They start out a pale green color and grow to be very red and even larger than their leaves when ripe. The soil is kept fairly dry the majority of the year, until the harvest begins.
The most common way to harvest cranberries is to flood the berry bed with water (hence the cranberry bog) and use a machine to shake the berries off of the shrubs. The berries then float to the top of the water and can be corralled and gathered.
Nutrition and benefits
A cranberry is a powerhouse packed with nutrients and anti-oxidants. It has been known as a "superfood" due to it's range of possible health benefits.
- ½ cup fresh cranberries
Did you know? Cranberries have high levels of antioxidant proanthocyanidins, which can help prevent UTIs. However, cranberry juice does not contain a high enough concentration to do this.
Choosing and storing fresh berries
Cranberries should be very smooth and firm with no wrinkles. They should be light in weight and even bouncy.
If you see any wrinkled berries or berries with dark spots, remove them from your batch.
Store fresh cranberries in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to 2 months. Check for wrinkled or browned berries regularly, as a bad berry can cause the rest of your berries to spoil.
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Freezing and storing
Cranberries freeze beautifully! Spread the berries out on a sheet pan covered with parchment paper in a single layer and place in the freezer until frozen (about 3 hours). Transfer to an air tight container or plastic bag and put back into the freezer.
Cranberries can be stored in the freezer for up to a year, depending on the container that you use. (The better the seal, the longer they will last.)
Unless you're planning to eat the cranberries raw, there's no need to thaw them before using. Toss the frozen cranberries in a pan to make cranberry sauce, stir them into dough for baked goods, or toss them into a smoothie. Easy as that!
How to eat cranberries
Fresh
Fresh cranberries have an amazing flavor and are loaded with nutrients and anti-oxidants, but can be very tart.
- Eat the raw and enjoy their flavor
- Coat them in sugar and make sugared cranberries
- Toss them into smoothies
- Infuse bourbon or other alcohol
Cooked
Cooked cranberries have a fantastic, deep red color and become little juicy bursts when cooked, similar to other berries.
- Make cranberry sauce
- Add them to pancakes or baked goods like muffins
- Add them to holiday vegetable dishes
- Add them to savory dishes like chili for a uniquely fall flavor
Dried
Dried cranberries are the most commonly form of cranberry, as they are widely available year round.
- Eat them as a snack
- Add them to granola or tail mix
- Toss them in oatmeal or on top of cereal
- Add them to holiday dishes
- Toss them into a salad for their tart flavor
Juiced
Cranberry juice is amazingly tart, so it's usually sweetened.
- Drink it plain! Sweetened or unsweetened, it's delicious
- Add it to a smoothie
- Make a holiday cocktail or mocktail
Must-try cranberry recipes
You can find all of our cranberry recipes here!
If you have any more questions or tips about cranberries, please let us know on social media or in the comments below! Leave a star rating in your comment or tag us on Instagram with #Rhubarbarians.
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Hope you enjoy cranberry season!
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Norma kinson
Is there a quick and easy way to top and tail cranberries . Home grown and I only have 12 bushes, but want to freeze as many as possible . Hope you can help.
Norma...
Trish Bozeman
Unfortunately, I have never grown cranberries. I wish I could help! I bet a quick google search would show some results. 🙂
Jenni LeBaron
I love cranberries! In fact, I have three containers of them sitting in my fridge right now just begging to be used in one of these recipes. Can't wait to put them to good use with the granola!
Tracy
Such great tips and information about cranberries! As a family who used to only eat the canned stuff at Thanksgiving, now I think I’m ready to tackle the real stuff! Thank you!
Dana Sandonato
I always have so many cranberries and cranberry sauce leftover after hosting Friendsgiving. These must-try recipes are HAPPENING. Fantastic post, Tricia. Lots of information here, which is so so helpful since I only use cranberries one or twice a year. So I often forget the best freezing practices and ways to use up leftovers.
Gloria
Love this post. I always have cranberries in the freezer. Since fresh are only available a few times I year, I stock up when I can. Love all the ways to use them. Once you make homemade cranberry sauce, you will never buy canned again!!
Lisa Lotts
I think it's so cool how cranberries are harvested -- though I didn't know that they had to agitate the trees and flood the cranberry areas to do that. I'd only seen them floating on the water before, so I appreciate that little nugget. That cranberry dark chocolate granola sounds utterly amazing, too. I'm definitely making THAT recipe! Genius.