Cranberry Facts

Assalamu'alaikum and hi everyone! Welcome to my blog, thank you for spending some of your time to visit my blog! In this entry i will be sharing all the things you need to know about Cranberry! yes, cranberry. I found it as an interesting topic to talk about because me myself really love to enjoy it. The common form of cranberry that i used to enjoy is the dried one, i never get the chance to have a taste of fresh cranberry, however as i study further about it, i acknowledge that the fresh cranberry is not really good to consume as it contain a strong bitter taste. The dried one has going through a cooking process that helps to reduce the bitter taste and makes it enjoyable. Below i attach the diagram of cranberry bush for your reference.

The uses of Cranberry

In 1620, Native Americans mixed deer meat and crushed cranberries to make Pemmican. Pemmican is known as easy food that can be kept for a long period. They believed that cranberry also contain a medicinal value, and were used to removed poison from arrow wounds. The juice of the cranberry also used as colorant for rugs, blankets and clothing.

Origins of the name

Cranberry have had variety of names, Eastern Indians called them "sassamanesh." They were named "ibimi," or bitter berry, by Cape Cod Pequots and the South Jersey Leni-Lenape tribes. Wisconsin's Algonquins named the fruit "atoqua." But it wasn't until German and Dutch settlers came up with "crane berry," since the vine blossoms resembled a crane's face, head and tail, that we got to what we now know as the cranberry until now.

Fun facts of Cranberry

• The cranberry is one of the very handful of big North American native fruits. Others include the Concord grapes and Blueberry.
• American vessels brought cranberries during the days of the wooden ships and iron men. Just like the English loved limes, American sailors were craving for cranberries. It was the infinite resource of vitamin C from the cranberry that hindered scurvy.

• Dennis, Massachusetts was the source of the first cranberry cultivation recorded in 1816.

• Legend has it that the Pilgrims may have served cranberries at the first Thanksgiving in 1621 in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
• Seven of the 10 cranberries sold in the world today come from Ocean Spray, a cooperative of growers which began in 1930.
• Sometimes, cranberries are used to flavour wines, but do not ferment as naturally as grapes, rendering them unfit for conventional wine making processes.

Want to know more about cranberry? i'll be posting more on the harvesting method and also the recipe that use cranberry as it main ingredients! stay tuned! Thank you for reading, take care of your health and be safe during this pandemic.