A Thanksgiving Staple, Cranberry Products Enjoyed Year Round

As the Thanksgiving Holiday approaches, many families will undoubtedly be sitting down for turkey dinner with all the fixings including a side dish of cranberries – a seemingly American tradition. However, Cranberries in various forms have made their way into the American diet in the dried and juice forms and are consumed year round.

Native to North America, cranberries can be found in bogs and moorlands in the wild and are mostly cultivated in the states of Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Oregon, Washington and New Jersey. Closely related to blueberries and huckleberries, cranberries are too tart to eat raw. When buying fresh cranberries one should look for firm, bright red fruit; berries that are at their peak will bounce when dropped.

Cranberries are a fair source of vitamin C and fiber. Cranberries also contain bioflavonoids thought to protect eyesight and help prevent cancer. Cranberry juice is well noted for its ability to help prevent or alleviate cystitis and urinary tract infections. Studies have established that cranberries contain a natural antibiotic substance that makes bladder walls inhospitable to the organisms responsible for urinary tract infections enabling the organisms to be washed out of the body.

The primary negative regarding cranberries is that they must be prepared with large amounts of sugar to make them palatable.