Cranberry
These shiny red berries grow in large bogs on low vines, mainly in Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts and Wisconsin.
Plural
Cranberries
Season
available year-round
How to select
Usually packaged fresh in 12 oz bags, throw out any shriveled or discolored berries. Dried sweetened cranberries and canned cranberry sauce in puree or whole bean form are also available.
How to store
Will keep tightly wrapped in the refrigerator for up to 2 months or frozen for a year.
How to prepare
Cranberries are extremely tart, so they are often combined with sugar or other fruits when cooked. Usually cooked into a sauce used with meats at Thanksgiving and Christmas, cranberries also make good chutneys, pies and cobblers. Dried cranberries can be used like raisins.
Matches well with
apples, cinnamon, cloves, oranges, pears, sugar, walnuts
Substitutions
lingonberry, carissa, rhubarb