A good year for cranberries

BY VIKI MATHER

There are almost enough cranberries this fall to make up for the sparsity of blueberries.

Cranberries are easy to find after you have seen the first patch of them. They grow on low-lying vines at the edges of wet places. They are especially fond of boggy areas, but can also be found along lakeshores in protected coves.

Cranberry vines are tiny. The threadlike stems support tiny, long, oval leaves. These have smooth edges that curl in a bit. All summer long the leaves are green, but as we reach into the cool days of October, they become as red as the cranberry fruits.  The fruits are abundant this year, which makes it even easier to find the plants.

Wild cranberries are the same size and colour as those you buy in the store.

In fact, wild cranberries are so perfectly created, that there has been no need to generate hybrids for marketing.  They are grown commercially in managed wetlands. 

With Thanksgiving being a bit early this year, our local wild cranberries have not yet fully ripened to their full maroonish-red colour. Still, if you can find a patch of wild cranberries, you can pick enough of the nearly ripe berries to make a nice sauce for Thanksgiving dinner.

A simple cranberry sauce is made with berries, a little water and some sugar.  Simmer gently until the berries break, stir and chill. 

An interesting treat for Thanksgiving dinner, or any fancy meal is cranberry pie. This is also very simple. Fill a piecrust with fresh, raw cranberries.  Add a cup of white sugar, a teaspoon of almond extract and a few dots of butter.  Cover with the top crust, sprinkle a little sugar on top, and cut enough slits to allow abundant steam to escape.

Bake at 325 F for 45 minutes or so.  The cranberries will get bubbly, and the crust will turn a golden brown. To be truly decadent, serve this pie warm with a scoop of pure vanilla ice cream. 

Collecting cranberries from the wild is a great excuse to get out for an autumn hike.  Take a trail that wanders by some wet areas, and keep a sharp eye out for that maroon colour of the leaves and berries. Once you find the first patch, your eyes will know what you are looking for, and soon you'll see many more.