It’s cranberry time again. Because the cranberry harvest runs from October to January. And in these dark days before the cozy and warm Christmas days, these little red fruits full of vitamin C and anti-oxidants will be used. In addition, there are delicious recipes to make tasty cakes, jams and juices. An opportunity to combine healthy, cozy and delicious.
The cranberry is a small red berry from North America and Canada, but this berry is also grown on Terschelling. After purchase, the cranberry has a very good shelf life in the packaging for up to 2 months in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator, but you can also freeze it. So if you love cranberries, now is the time to buy them and possibly freeze them so you can enjoy them all winter long. Once out of the freezer, only rinsing is necessary and they are immediately ready to use.
A piece of history
Indians already knew what to do with the cranberry 300 years ago. They used the berries to heal wounds and soothe pain. When the first Europeans became acquainted with this berry through the Indians in 1620, they gave it the name Crane Berry. This is because the flower of the plant when it moves back and forth in the wind resembles the head of a crane.
The harvest
Until around 1950, the cranberry was picked by hand using the “dry method”. After that time a manufacturer developed another method called the “wet method”. is called. This method also takes place from the end of October, by flooding the fields with the berries so that the berries are released by the plant and float to the top. They are then scooped out of the water. These types of berries are processed into fruit juice, jams and sauce. The berries produced by the “dry method” are harvested and sold directly as fresh fruit for consumption.
Tasty but also healthy
Cranberries are rich in fiber and rich in antioxidants and vitamin C. Antioxidants are important to us because they neutralize the free radicals that are present in our body so that they can be prevented from causing other diseases such as: arteriosclerosis and old-age diabetes. But they also counteract aging and have a positive effect on the reduction of pressure on the eye. Cranberries contain flavonoids that have a beneficial effect on heart and vascular diseases and a protective effect against fungi. In addition, research on cystitis has shown that cranberries contain proathocyanides that prevent bacteria from attaching to the bladder wall and that even bacteria that are already attached are loosened. In addition, the presence of fructose and fruit sugar also has a positive influence and the bacteria leave the bladder in this way before they can cause inflammation. And that is why cranberries are known to be good against cystitis. And that can be done by eating fresh cranberries, drinking juice or by taking capsules (supplement). Drinking plenty of water is also very important in a bladder infection. That is very important for the body anyway, but if you have cystitis it is crucial.
Vitamin C ?? also present in cranberries ?? has a preventive and curative effect on cystitis. If there is already an inflammation, take extra vitamin C through a supplement. A supplement is more effective in this case because the dose of a supplement can be higher. It is difficult to get an equal dose with a few oranges. 2000 mg per day is recommended and you would have to eat 36 oranges for that. So then taking a supplement is easier. Besides that, it is always advisable to take as many fresh fruits and vegetables as possible to ensure that the entire immune system improves.
The winter ahead
As mentioned, you can buy cranberries everywhere at the moment, because we are in the middle of harvest time. This can be fresh, but you can also find cranberries in the freezer of the supermarket. Cranberries are often used, especially at Christmas. The dark berries make for beautiful and cozy looking cakes and all kinds of other tasty things that look great on the Christmas buffet. So make something different and make a cranberry cake, for example. A site with many cranberry recipes can be found under this link.
Cranberry Cake
Ingredients:
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup of candy syrup
- 2/3 cup of sugar
- 4 tablespoons of melted butter
- salt
- 1 packet of crust mix
- 1 cup of fresh cranberries
- 1 cup of pecans
Preparation:
- Beat the eggs in a bowl with a fork.
- Stir in the syrup, sugar, melted butter and some salt.
- Prepare the shortcrust pastry as indicated on the package.
- Cover a round baking pan with the dough.
- Sprinkle in the cranberries.
- Arrange the half pecans on this.
- Pour the egg syrup mixture over the filling.
- Place the tin on a rack at the bottom of a moderately warm oven (160 ° C) for 50-55 minutes.
- Let the cranberry pie cool on a wire rack.