Food For Thought: Cranberries – the North American Fruit

Vicki Prock, Galliard Special Projects

While no one knows exactly how the first Thanksgiving feast was pulled off, it is certain cranberries were on the table. One of the few fruits native to North America, the cranberry was used as food, for dyeing fabrics and very likely were offered at that first community meal we now call Thanksgiving. While the inexperienced might view cranberries only as the gelatin the comes slurping out of a can once a year; where I live in Wisconsin the cranberry is a major crop and bountifully represented in hometown and church basement recipe books. My favorite is still the one my mom has brought to the table for as many years as I can remember

Ingredients:
1 lb. cranberries, cleaned and sorted.
One orange, peeled and cut into small chunks.
“About” ¼ cup sugar.

Directions:
Put cranberries in saucepan and cover with water. Heat to boiling and add orange pieces. Stir cranberries and orange as they slow boil and the cranberries begin to pop open (usually 10-15 minutes). Continue cooking until all cranberries are popped and mixture begins to thicken.

Cranberries are a bitter and sweet fruit so you can add sugar (or sweetener) to your own taste. The added orange in this recipe naturally sweetens the mixture so less sugar is typically needed.

Let ingredients cool and pour into a bowl. (My mom has used the same small cut-glass bowl for so many years I can’t even imagine not seeing it on the table.)

Refrigerate for several hours before serving.

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