Wow, it's been a week and I haven't posted! I have to apologize, it was my first full week back at work in many months, so there was a bit of transition to having my days filled!
I've been saving this post since we visited Rockefeller Center about 2 weeks ago actually. I went up to Midtown with M. because he had a lunch meeting. It was cancelled at the last minute, so we ate lunch at Pret A Manger in the concourse by the ice skating rink. They were actually working on it that day, so it should be opening soon!
While we were enjoying the nice day and not working, we wandered through the Plaza at 30 Rock and it was cranberry display day. In addition to lots of Ocean Spray free samples, there were actually mini cranberry bogs built.
I tend towards being cynical at times so figured that the people wading in the "bogs" were Ocean Spray marketing folks. I was pleasantly surprised that these were real life cranberry growers! The woman we talked to (below) is actually from New Jersey and a family run farm. If you didn't know, Ocean Spray, is actually a cooperative of growers. Who knew?
I thought Massachusetts was the biggest producer of cranberries, in part because I toured the Ocean Spray factory there as a little girl. Wisconsin takes home the prize, with New Jersey not far behind.
The cranberries actually grow on shrub like vines close to the ground. Then the fields are flooded and a harvester machine comes through to loosen the berries. White cranberry juice comes from white berries that just haven't turned red yet.
All in all, a fascinating little discovery that day. As for eating them, I enjoy dried cranberries in my oatmeal and "chunky" cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving. But alas, my sister is a die-hard cranberries-from-a can-with-the-ring kind of girl, so that's what we have at my house.
Any good cranberry recipes out there?
5 comments:
I'm with Amy, I like the canned stuff!
hahahaha, Amy will always win out on this one. My mom can't help but give in :)
Sarah has a fabulous cranberry relish dressing. I love mine homemade, with carmelized onions, orange zest, and a little spice. My all-time favorite though is cranberry orange loaf bread- as long as it is very moist. Nothing more disappointing than biting into a treat and finding it dry.
Fascinating discovery of cranberries! I associate the Cape with cranberries and am surprised to hear Wisconsin wins out! More than just cheese!
I have an awesome cranberry relish recipe. You boil 2 cups of orange juice with 1/2 cup of honey, a stick of cinnamon, a few cloves and a little allspice and boil it down to about 3/4 of a cup of liquid. Leave it on the heat and add one bag of frozen cranberries. Stir until all of the cranberries have popped open. Remove from heat and chill. Serve cold or at room temperature!
Thank you for the cranberry recipes! We may be having Thanksgiving for 2 in NYC so maybe I'll make bread and the relish!
Post a Comment