Cranberries Galore :)

[Guest guest]

Happy Turkey Day ... errr .. cranberry day

 

*Smile*Chris (list mom)

 

http://www.alittleolfactory.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.foodtv.com/terms/obsessioncranberries/0,4493,,00.html

According to cranberry lore, Pilgrims served stewed cranberries at the first Thanksgiving. Long before, Native Americans made Pemmican, a cake of dried strips of meat, fat, grains and cranberries--durable enough to be prepared ahead of time and eaten on long journeys. As time went by, the vitamin C-packed fruit became a popular choice for the New England seafaring community because of its excellent scurvy-fighting powers, while Dutch and German settlers named the fruit "crane berry" because the blossoms resembled the neck, head and bill of the crane. Slowly, cranberry bogs began to spring up all across Cape Cod. Contrary to popular belief, the small red berries don't grow in water. Cranberries grow on vines in bogs and marshes, which are occasionally flooded for irrigation and harvesting. When the berries are ripe, the bogs are filled with water and then a special machine shakes the berries from the vines. The berries float to the top of the water, where they are easily gathered. Though cranberries are grown in five U.S. states, true to our visions of the first Thanksgiving New England has the highest number of bogs in the country. Some bogs in New England even have risen to the status of tourist attraction. It's the simple cranberry relish recipe on the back of the bag that Sara Moulton, Executive Chef with Gourmet Magazine and host of Cooking Live and Cooking Live Primetime, prefers around the holidays. "It's such a refreshing flavor," she says. She admits that the real challenge is making the sour fruit edible--usually solved by adding a large amount of sugar. It is believed that early New World settlers sweetened the berries with maple syrup. Sara notes that the tart flavor especially complements heavier meat and poultry, such as duck and pork--the acidity in the cranberry is great at cutting through the fattiness of the meat. Another of Sara's favorites is candy-coated cranberries: Make a hard-crack syrup (sugar and water brought to a boil and measuring 295F/146C with a candy thermometer), then dip the cranberries in it. Allow the syrup to set, and, Sara says, the cranberries "are like miniature candy apples. They're great for garnishing desserts." Sara Moulton also has these tips and tricks for your cranberry pleasure:

 

Fresh cranberries are mainly available only three months of the year (October, November and December), so buy double what you need and freeze them to ensure the freshest frozen berries. Fresh cranberries will last two weeks refrigerated and up to a year frozen.

Do not defrost frozen cranberries. Instead, add them to your recipe in frozen form--this will keep them from being mushy in the final dish.

Wash cranberries right before you use them. Like other berries, they get soggy if wet for too long.

The typical bag of cranberries available in the supermarket equals about three cups of fruit. There are only 25 calories and a mighty dose of vitamin C in a half cup.

Not that you're going to empty a bag on the grocery store floor, but really fresh cranberries will bounce.

While traditional cranberry sauce has never lost its holiday popularity, cranberries are gaining a reputation outside of holiday time (and holiday sauce) in salsas, salads, muffins, cakes, sauces and more. Try some of the recipes listed here any time of year.

http://www.epicurious.com/s97is.vts?action=filtersearch & filter=recipe-filter.hts & collection=Recipes & ResultTemplate=recipe-results.hts & queryType=and & keyword=cranberry & submit.x=17 & submit.y=3