CREATE A CRANBERRY FEAST

Image Gallery Staff Photo

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

The "ruby of the bog" will add a burst of color and a bundle of flavor to your holiday fare.

by Eva Zlab

Early autumn, when the often warm and hazy days are followed by cool nights and frosty morn ings, heralds the end of the har vest season. And a bit later, as the trees blaze into a brilliant display of color, na ture puts its finishing touches on the plump crimson berries in local cranberry bogs. In our household, the appearance of the bright berries—from late September and on through the drowsy Indian summer days of October and November—is the signal to don old clothing, pull on water proof galoshes, grab some buckets, and embark on our annual cranberry-picking outing (and begin dreaming of the mouth watering meals that the little ruby fruits will contribute so much to).

This autumn excursion—which has become a regular tradition in our family—is actually just a continuation of a custom once practiced by our forebears. The cranberry has played a rich part in this country's heritage. The tart fruit was an important ingredient in pemmican, the "convenience food" carried by many native Americans, and its juice was used as a dye for clothing and blankets. Several tribes also made cranberry poultices, with which to draw venom from poisoned-arrow wounds. In addition, the fruit was sometimes offered as a symbol of peace (it's believed that the Indians presented the Pilgrims with gifts of cranberries).

And European settlers were quick to recognize the excellent qualities of the berry. Water-packed barrels of the fruit (which we now know to be rich in vitamin C) were taken on board oceangoing ships to help prevent scurvy. Early colonists also gave the cranberry its common name: It seems that they thought the delicate pink blossoms resembled the nodding heads of cranes . . . and "crane berry" was later shortened to the moniker we use today.

Foraging for wild cranberries continued to be a common autumn activity as the Pilgrim settlements grew into thriving towns. The fruits began to ripen at the end of the growing season, and—as a celebration of the harvest—whole communities would assemble at peat bogs and gather the crimson fruit as one of the last social events before winter's chill set in for good. (In fact, cranberry picking was so popular that many villages actually levied a fine on anyone who was caught harvesting the fruit before the season was officially open!)

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print