Cooking with cranberries

As the bounty of Halloween treats makes way for the fall harvest of seasonal fruits and vegetables, the cranberry makes its annual appearance in grocery store produce departments. The tart red berries, used in relishes, salsas, chutneys, savory baked goods, stuffings and salads, are a real seasonal treat. Although cranberry juice, canned cranberry sauces and jellies and sweet dried cranberries, sometimes marketed as Craisins, are available on grocers’ shelves year-round, it isn’t until November that we really give this seasonal fruit its due.

Before the first Thanksgiving
Long before the pilgrims set sail in search of the New World, American Indians used cranberries for food and for the fruit’s medicinal qualities. Raw berries were mashed and used in poultices to draw poison from arrow wounds. The rich red cranberry juice was used to dye ceremonial rugs, blankets and clothing. The Delaware tribe of American Indians in New Jersey revered the cranberry as a symbol of peace.
According to historians at Ocean Spray, one of the largest distributors of cranberries and cranberry products in the United States, cranberries have been known by many different names. Eastern Indians called them sassamanesh while the Cape Cod Pequots and the South Jersey Lenni-Lenape tribes named them ibimi, or bitter berry. The Algonquins of Wisconsin called the fruit atoqua.
When the early German and Dutch settlers came up with the term “crane berry” (because the cranberry blossom resembles the head and bill of a crane), the small red fruit became nationally known as the cranberry.

A multimillion-pound harvest
Cranberries grow on long-running vines in sandy bogs and marshes and are harvested from mid September through November. The majority of cranberries Americans consume are harvested from farms in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin.
Cranberries can be dry harvested, picked by hand or machine, or wet harvested by flooding the cranberry bogs with water. In the wet-harvest method, berries float to the surface of the water and are collected by machine. Generally, dry-harvest berries are sold fresh whereas berries from a wet harvest are processed into a variety of food and juice products.
After the cranberry vines bloom in late spring, the fruit, which appears after the blossom drops, turns from green to white to bright red through the course of the growing season. White cranberries are wet harvested in early fall, just a few weeks earlier than red cranberries. The yet-to-mature white cranberries have a lighter taste than the fully developed red berries and are used almost exclusively in juices and juice drinks.
Drink to your health
Historically, the health-promoting properties of cranberries have been based on folkloric remedies. Besides the uses employed by American Indians, New England sailors are said to have eaten wild cranberries, rich in vitamin C, to prevent scurvy.
Current medical research shows that one to three servings of a light cranberry juice drink each day could be as good for the heart as red wine. The bacteria-blocking compounds found in cranberry juice boosts high-density lipoprotein or HDL, the good cholesterol that keeps hearts healthy.
Also, the same compounds may be useful in blocking the bacteria responsible for ulcers and certain oral bacteria that can lead to gum disease. One 10-ounce glass of cranberry juice cocktail daily is all that is needed to achieve the bacteria-blocking benefits that ward off urinary tract infections, ulcers and gum disease.

Cooked cranberries
For a healthier Thanksgiving this year, try any of the following recipes. The salsa is a nice way to start your holiday meal and makes a great Sunday afternoon football snack as well. The chutney is good served warm, not only as a condiment with turkey but also with grilled or baked chicken, fish and pork.
The wonderful recipe for couscous with cranberries comes courtesy of the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Association. Couscous cooks quickly so this recipe requires no advance preparation. Try it at your holiday table in lieu of or in addition to the standard mashed potatoes or wild rice. Those in search of more good cranberry recipes may consult the Cape Cod Growers Association’s cookbook, “Cranberry Cooking for All Seasons,” available for purchase at www.cranberries.org.
As for Thanksgiving leftovers, the cranberry and turkey panini recipe from the test kitchens at Ocean Spray is a real winner. To enjoy this hearty sandwich all year, make and freeze your own homemade cranberry sauce now while berries are fresh or, in a pinch, use canned cranberry sauce.

Tex-Mex Cranberry Salsa*
1 cup water
2/3 cup sugar
1 (12-oz.) package fresh or frozen cranberries
1 fresh jalapeno, seeded and minced (for a deeper, richer taste, grill, roast or broil the chili before seeding and dicing)
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 green onion, diced
1/4 cup lime juice
Coarsely ground sea salt to taste

Combine water and sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Add cranberries; return to a boil. Gently boil cranberries for 10 minutes without stirring. Pour into a mixing bowl and stir in remaining ingredients. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate. Serve at room temperature with warmed tortilla chips, sour cream and freshly made guacamole for dipping.
*Adapted from an Ocean Spray recipe

Cranberry Chutney
1 (12-oz.) bag fresh cranberries
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. fresh grated nutmeg
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. ground cumin

Combine cranberries, vinegar and sugar in a saucepan over high heat; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and stir in nutmeg, cinnamon, cayenne and cumin.
Simmer 20 to 25 minutes or until mixture is very thick, stirring frequently. Adjust seasonings to suit your taste.

Couscous with Cranberries
1 (12-oz.) package couscous
1 (14-oz.) can chicken or vegetable broth
Salt and pepper to taste
3 Tbsp. walnut, almond or olive oil
1 tsp. lemon juice
Zest of one lemon
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/3-1/2 cup fresh mint leaves

Cook the couscous according to the package directions, using broth instead of water. Season with salt and pepper. While the couscous is cooking, toast the pine nuts in a small, dry frying pan over medium heat just until they begin to brown. Immediately remove them from the heat and take them out of the pan or they will burn. Hold until the couscous has finished cooking. Meanwhile, rinse and finely chop the mint leaves. When the couscous is ready, fluff the grains with a fork and transfer to a serving bowl. Add oil and lemon juice and stir well to coat all the grains. Add the cranberries, pine nuts and mint leaves. Stir to combine all the ingredients. Serve immediately.

Turkey and Cranberry Panini
2 ciabatta or focaccia rolls or 4 thick slices of Italian bread
2 Tbsp. homemade or canned whole-berry cranberry sauce
2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 chipotle chile canned in adobo sauce, finely chopped (found in the Mexican section of large grocery stores or in specialty Mexican supermarkets)
1 packed cup fresh baby spinach leaves
2 slices red onion
8 oz. sliced turkey
2 slices Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack cheese
3 Tbsp. butter or olive oil

Cut rolls in half lengthwise. Stir cranberry sauce, mayonnaise and chipotle in small bowl until well mixed.
For each sandwich, spread cut surfaces of roll or one side of each slice of bread with cranberry mayonnaise mixture. Place half of the spinach, an onion slice, 4 ounces of turkey and a slice of cheese on bottom half of roll. Place top of roll on sandwich and flatten. Brush both sides of sandwiches with olive oil or butter.
Heat sandwiches in panini press according to manufacturer’s directions, or heat in a large skillet over medium heat just as you would cook a grilled cheese sandwich. To simulate the panini press, place a heavy pan or skillet on top of the sandwich as it browns in the pan and cook for 10 minutes, turning once or until sandwich is toasted and hot throughout.