Vintage postcard image with kind permission of CardCow.com
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Cranberry Harvest on Cape Cod using the dry-picked method using two-handed comb scoops.
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Mmmm what can be brighter and righter than a sparkling dish of cranberries on the holiday table?
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Holiday Bright!
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Imagine how...well...brown and white our plates would look without them? Cranberries appear everywhere at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Some take the form of trusty ole' Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce. Always tasty, always dependable, always SO difficult to get out of the can.
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Homemade cranberry sauces (usually cooked) and relishes (usually uncooked) appear from cupboards and larders with special ingredients ranging from cinnamon and oranges to onions and jalapenos. A treat for taste buds everywhere.
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I decided to find something new for the cranberry dish this year. I browsed through several recipes for ideas and ended up with an original recipe of my own. The recipe made 3 pint jars with a little left over for tasting. One jar for Thanksgiving, one to share, and one for Christmas. The surprise ingredient is rosemary! A perfect meld of flavors and textures.
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Cynthia's Cranberry Sauce with Pears and Orange
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Ingredients:
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2 12 oz bags of cranberries (picked over and washed)
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1 Cup Orange Juice
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1 Tablespoon orange zest
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2 Cups sugar (use natural Florida crystals where available)
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2 medium slightly under-ripe pears (Bosc are excellent) pared and diced about 1/3 of an inch.
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1 1/2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, minced, or 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed
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3 tablespoons Grand Mariner (optional for you, but required for me)
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Combine all ingredients in large saucepan, and stir well. Place over medium heat and boil, stirring, until berries pop open - about 10 minutes. Spoon into clean pint sized canning jars or other containers. Cool. Refrigerate, covered, for up to 2 months.
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What can be easier than that?
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For all of you city slickers:
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Cranberries are harvested in the fall when the fruit takes on its distinctive deep red color. This is usually in late September or early October.
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Wet-Picked Method: To harvest cranberries, the beds are flooded with six to eight inches of water above the vines. A harvester is driven through the beds to remove the fruit from the vines. For the past 50 years, water reel type harvesters have been used. Harvested cranberries float in the water and can be corralled into a corner of the bed and conveyed or pumped from the bed. From the farm, cranberries are taken to receiving stations where they are cleaned, sorted, and stored prior to packaging or processing.
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Dry-Picked Method: Although most cranberries are wet-picked, 5-10% of the US crop is still dry-picked. This entails higher labor costs and lower yield, but dry-picked berries are less bruised and can be sold as fresh fruit instead of having to be immediately frozen or processed. Originally performed with two-handed comb scoops, dry picking is today accomplished by motorized, walk-behind harvesters which must be small enough to traverse beds without damaging the vines.
Cynthia's Cranberry Sauce with Pears and Orange...
Ingredients:
.
2 12 oz bags of cranberries (picked over and washed)
.
1 Cup Orange Juice
.
1 Tablespoon orange zest
.
2 Cups sugar (use natural Florida crystals where available)
.
2 medium slightly under-ripe pears (Bosc are excellent) pared and diced about 1/3 of an inch.
.
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, minced, or 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed
.
3 tablespoons Grand Mariner (optional for you, but required for me)
.
Combine all ingredients in large saucepan, and stir well. Place over medium heat and boil, stirring, until berries pop open - about 10 minutes. Spoon into clean pint sized canning jars or other containers. Cool. Refrigerate, covered, for up to 2 months.
.
What can be easier than that?
.
For all of you city slickers:
.
Cranberries are harvested in the fall when the fruit takes on its distinctive deep red color. This is usually in late September or early October.
.
Wet-Picked Method: To harvest cranberries, the beds are flooded with six to eight inches of water above the vines. A harvester is driven through the beds to remove the fruit from the vines. For the past 50 years, water reel type harvesters have been used. Harvested cranberries float in the water and can be corralled into a corner of the bed and conveyed or pumped from the bed. From the farm, cranberries are taken to receiving stations where they are cleaned, sorted, and stored prior to packaging or processing.
.
Dry-Picked Method: Although most cranberries are wet-picked, 5-10% of the US crop is still dry-picked. This entails higher labor costs and lower yield, but dry-picked berries are less bruised and can be sold as fresh fruit instead of having to be immediately frozen or processed. Originally performed with two-handed comb scoops, dry picking is today accomplished by motorized, walk-behind harvesters which must be small enough to traverse beds without damaging the vines.
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2 comments:
Sorry, friends! I had to set the word varification up again. Getting spam comments advertising bingo and other stuff.
this is so interesting. I am glad for the recipe and you posting.
p.s. I am getting spam again too.. BLAH!!
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