Food & Recipes
5 Winter Superfoods: Cranberries: Preparation and Varieties
Preparation
Cranberries are often too tart to be eaten raw. Most cranberries need be cooked before they are eaten. No matter what preparation method you choose, cook cranberries only until they pop because overcooking gives them a bitter taste.
Since cranberries are almost 90% water, do not thaw frozen cranberries before cooking them. Thawing, will cause the fruit to breakdown, resulting in soft cranberries.
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Cranberries may be baked with a sweetener to make a topping or sauce, or they can be added to baked goods, such as muffins. They are also good chopped with oranges to make a relish.
Varieties
There are four major varieties of cranberries: European, American, Mountain, and Highbush.
American
This variety is the most common in the United States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture uses this variety as the standard for fresh cranberries and cranberries used for juice. This variety is bright red.
European
This variety is smaller than the American and is eaten less often than other varieties. It is primarily ornamental.
Mountain
This variety is approximately 1/4 to 1/2 inch in diameter and is bright red to dark red. It is occasionally found in markets.
Highbush
This variety is primarily used for jellies, jams, and sauces. It is also used as an ornamental fruit.
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