Harvesting Cranberries How And When To Pick Cranberries

Every autumn (usually from mid-September until around mid-November in North America and March through May in Chile), cranberries reach their peak of color and flavor and are ready for harvesting. That's when our growers harvest millions of pounds of cranberries. If you ask us, it's really quite beautiful.

How do I know when my cranberries are ripe?

Good berries for picking should be firm to the touch and a red to dark crimson color. After harvesting, you can try the “bounce test” against a flat surface to ensure your ripe cranberries are nice and springy.

How do you harvest cranberries?

Cranberries are harvested in one of two ways, wet harvest or dry harvest. Most cranberries are wet harvested when the field is flooded, but a few are dry harvested with a mechanical picker, to be sold as fresh fruit. When fields are going to be wet harvested, the field is flooded.

Why do cranberry fields have to be drained as soon as the harvest is finished?

After harvest, bogs are drained, raked, and reflooded. Water protects the shallow-rooted cranberry vines from frost during the cold winter months. It also protects highly flammable bogs from fire and kills the larvae of potential insect pests.

Why do you harvest cranberries in water?

Cranberries have pockets of air inside the fruit. Because of this, cranberries float in water, and thus, the bogs can be flooded to aid in removal of fruit from the vines. ... By this action, cranberries are dislodged from the vines and float to the surface of the water.

Is it OK to eat cranberries raw?

cranberries are insanely healthy ~ they're low calorie, high fiber, high in vitamin C and cancer fighting antioxidants. you CAN eat them raw! Pulse them into a relish, or blend up into a super nutritious smoothie. ... fresh cranberries are good for so much more than sauce…just scroll down and see!

Can you eat the seeds in cranberries?

Cranberries contain edible seeds and plenty of air. ... Cranberries are popular as juice, dried fruit, and a jam or jelly called cranberry sauce — all with added sugar of course.

Do you need to soak fresh cranberries?

When using fresh cranberries, if you are not adding them to a baked good you will need to cook them on the stovetop. It is important that you don't overcook them or they will turn to mush, and will also turn bitter. ... For added flavor, soak the cranberries in fruit juice or liquor instead of water.

How high must a cranberry bounce before it is harvested?

Cranberries bounce over a 4-inch board when harvested, according to the Nantucket Conservation Foundation. Firm berries bounce, while the softer, overripe berries drop to the bottom of the sorter and are discarded.

Where does Ocean Spray grow their cranberries?

Ocean Spray is an American agricultural cooperative of growers of cranberries and grapefruit headquartered in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. It currently has over 700 member growers (in Massachusetts, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington, Florida, British Columbia and other parts of Canada, as well as Chile).

Do Cranberries grow in bogs?

Cranberries are a unique fruit. They can grow and survive only under a very special combination of factors. ... Cranberries grow on low-lying vines in beds layered with sand, peat, gravel and clay. These beds are commonly known as bogs or marshes and were originally created by glacial deposits.

Is Cranberry a tree?

Neither. The American Cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) is a low-growing, vining, woody perennial plant with small, alternate, oval leaves. The plant produces horizontal stems or runners up to 6 feet (2 m) long.

Do cranberries grow in water bogs?

The short answer is no. They don't grow in water, but water does come in to play with their harvest. Cranberries actually thrive in what known as a bog, or an area is characterized by an acidic peat soil.

How long will Cranberries last in water?

In water, cranberries should last about two weeks. Cranberries will tarnish real silver; use stainless steel or another silver look-alike.

Where do cranberries grow best?

Most cranberries grown in the U.S. come from Wisconsin, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Washington. Steve's farm is located in Southern New Jersey, which has the best soil conditions in the state for harvesting. Lee Brothers Cranberry Farm has a long history with cranberries.

Are cranberry bogs salt water?

Bogs are one of North America's most distinctive types of wetlands. They're strange ecosystems characterized by thick sphagnum moss, acidic waters, peat deposits and a spongy, mat-like substance on the water's surface. ... For example, cranberries need fresh water to survive.

What can I do with raw cranberries?

9 Ways to Use Fresh Cranberries That Aren't Cranberry Sauce

Ina Garten's Easy Apple and Cranberry Cake. Any time you see Ina's name followed by the word “easy,” you know the recipe is a keeper. ...
Cranberry Custard Pie. I love everything about this pie, from its creamy base to its finished presentation.
Cranberry-Pear Crisp. ...
Bourbon Cranberry Cocktail.

Why are cranberries bad for you?

High levels of oxalate—a chemical that binds to calcium during digestion—can be found in cranberries, especially cranberry extracts. Therefore, if you suffer from kidney stones, which are mostly made from calcium oxalate, eating copious amounts of cranberries may be a risk factor.

Do you need to remove seeds from cranberries?

You should have had up to a tablespoonful of tiny seeds to discarded. Check you berries and if their seems to be clinging seeds, since them again. This time use the measured cup of water above.

Are cranberries supposed to be sour?

While it is safe to eat normal cranberries raw or cooked, usually they are made into sweetened dishes because they are so sour. Cranberries are just about always sweetened. In their natural state, they are extremely tart.

Do cranberries make you poop?

Your body needs water to make stool easier to pass. So drinking more cranberry juice can decrease your dehydration and help with constipation. But there's no evidence to suggest cranberry juice accomplishes this more effectively than plain water.

Are Cranberries a Superfood?

Cranberries: Year-Round Superfood. We know cranberry sauce as a staple at the holidays, but cranberries are a superfood that you should enjoy all year round. Cranberries have vitamin C and fiber, and are only 45 calories per cup.