            Recipes > Ingredient Archive > Cranberries  Cranberry-Ginger Scones Cranberries are native to North America; they grow in cool, sandy bogs on low, woody vines. Native Americans prized the berries for their medicinal properties, using them as both a dye and a foodstuff. When the Pilgrims landed on the shores of Massachusetts in 1620, they discovered the tart, scarlet fruit growing along the coastline and quickly learned to appreciate the berry’s nutritional and culinary value. Today, cranberries are cultivated in the United States in Massachusetts, Oregon, Wisconsin, New Jersey, and Washington. Along with blueberries and Concord grapes, cranberries are one of only three commercially grown, native North American fruits. The peak cranberry harvest occurs in September and October. Traditionally, the low-lying, earthen-walled bogs are flooded with water. Ripe berries float to the surface, then harvesters wade into the bogs and loosen the fruit from the vines with wooden rakes. It is an unforgettable sight to see the formerly unspectacular bogs transformed into a vast sea of bobbing red berries. Today, less picturesque dry harvest methods are also used; berries are picked with a mechanical rake, involving little or no water. Sales of fresh cranberries make up only a small amount of the annual industrial crop. The majority of the commercial yield is dried, or used for juice and cranberry sauce. Fresh cranberries have a good refrigerated shelf life (about a month); they also freeze well and can be used frozen. Although fresh cranberries are much too tart to eat raw, dried berries are a different story. Unlike most other dried fruits, cranberries are sweetened with sugar or fruit juice concentrates in the drying process, lending them a distinctive, bright, sweet tang. Not only do they taste great, but modern science has confirmed the health benefits of eating cranberries. Centuries ago they were used to prevent scurvy, and researchers today speculate that the phytochemicals, antibacterial properties, and high vitamin content of cranberries may help protect against cancer, strokes, heart disease, and some infections. Full of antioxidants, dried cranberries are a healthy and tasty on-the-go snack for the whole family, and they’re great for cooking and baking, too.
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