Cranberries are native to the Adirondacks and a staple in
many Adirondack diets. Cranberries are one of only three commercially grown
fruits native to the United States, with the first noted cultivation in
Massachusetts in the early 1800s. Wild cranberries are found in wetlands and
bogs, but cultivated cranberries are grown on properly and carefully managed
farms. Americans used to trade cranberries to Europeans in 100 pound barrels,
that cost only sixty cents, and the sailors ate the berries frequently to
protect against scurvy. Scurvy is a condition brought along by a vitamin C
deficiency. Cranberries are full of vitamin C and E, along with many other
essential nutrients. Doctors are studying cranberries to see if they could be
beneficial in treating diabetes, cancer and arthritis, while attempting to confirm
that natural cranberry juice can prevent kidney stones. Cranberries have been
proven to lower bad (LDL) cholesterol levels, while raising good (HDL)
cholesterol levels, and are also known to prevent urinary tract infections. Despite
the numerous health benefits, cranberries still are not very popular in most
cuisines.
Due to the extreme sour taste of cranberries, they typically
are not eaten raw and are not eaten often. Besides cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving,
cranberry apple sauce for Chanukah, and dried cranberries on salads, cranberries
are seldom found in the average American’s diet. Pilgrims used to eat
cranberries sweetened with maple sugar and baked into bread, and it is believed
that Pilgrims ate cranberries at the very first Thanksgiving. As cranberries became more popular, more people
began farming them which led to the formation of the first association of
American cranberry farmers in 1871.
Interestingly, the way a farmer can tell which of his
cranberries are the ripest and readiest to sell is by bouncing them. There are
small pockets of air within the berries that allow them to bounce, but only the
freshest and firmest berries will bounce. After this discovery in the 1880s,
“bounceboards” were created to separate the sellable cranberries from the
rotten ones.
http://www.oceanspray.com/Ocean-Spray-Recipes/Plan-It-Old/Family-Fun/Cranberry-Fun-Facts.aspx
http://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/page/content.detail/id/534019/In-praise-of-cranberries.html?nav=5059
http://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2015/11/native-foods-cranberries.html
http://www.history.org/Foundation/journal/Holiday06/images/cranberryX_closeup.jpg
It's interesting that cranberries are a staple in many Adirondack diets because nothing really indicates that in our school meals. Considering the proximity to and health benefits of cranberries I'm surprised we haven't seen it incorporated in our food more. This brings up the idea of Bon Appetite utilizing produce from local farms more. I can see the difficulty in solely relying on local farms but it would be interesting to see how different our food would taste and look if we did.
ReplyDeleteI actually read this post while I was eating oatmeal with dried cranberries in it! I was completely shocked that cranberries are native to the Adirondacks and a staple in their diets. For some reason I did not expect that cranberries could have been farmed in the Adirondacks. This also made me wonder if there was any chance the dried cranberries I ate could have been local. Or going of Jesse if Bon Appetit uses any local cranberries for the annual thanksgiving dinner they have.
ReplyDeleteI love how you discuss how many potential benefits are plausible! Personally, I am ever-tempted by grocery store gummy vitamins but this post is a good reminder that natural foods such as cranberries contain valuable nutrients that are definitely more pure than yummy gummy bears. I've noticed that many diets now strive to emphasize the importance of fresh and natural foods. It sounds like cranberries are an overlooked food that could actually influence general health and help patients recover. I wonder if the cranberry could potentially be the next acai berry... my friends and I love acai bowls but perhaps blending cranberries could be supplementarily beneficial. Let's make smoothies and find out!
ReplyDeleteAs a follow-up to Jesse's response, Bon-Appetite does bake cranberries into their muffins fairly regularly, and there are dried cranberries stocked at the salad bar. However, raw, they tend to be sour, and so it may be hard to incorporate them further into meals that students still like. Also, harvesting cranberries is a process, so the cost of using cranberries in larger menu items could be an issue.
ReplyDeleteAlso, there's a lake named Cranberry lake in the Adirondacks!