Cranberries are one of nature’s secret super foods. These pretty little red berries—which are full of antioxidants—protect our cells from damage by unstable molecules called free radicals. One of the most common medicinal uses for cranberries is to drink cranberry juice to block urinary infections. Regular consumption may also help prevent plaque formation on teeth, kill H. pylori bacteria which can cause stomach cancer and ulcers, and some credit cranberries with preventing tumors from growing rapidly or even starting in the first place. Cranberries also increase HDL (good cholesterol) and reduce LDL (bad cholesterol).

Cranberries were first used by Native Americans. Along with blueberries and the Concord grape, they are one of North America’s native fruits. The early settlers discovered that these bitter berries drew blood from arrow wounds. They would combine them with deer meat and consume the mixture as a survival food which they called pemmican.

The word cranberry derives from “craneberry” named by the early European settlers in America because the expanding flower, stem and petals resemble that of a crane. They were also known to have been called bear berries, as bears had been seen feeding on them quite often.

Cranberries are found in acidic bogs throughout the Northern Hemisphere and grow on low creeping shrubs or vines which can reach up to seven feet long. Cranberries are pollinated by bees and are initially white, turning a deep red when they are fully ripened. Harvested in the fall, they are wet picked after being constructed upland in a shallow water table. The beds do not remain flooded but are regularly irrigated to maintain soil moisture. They are flooded in the autumn to activate harvest and then again in the winter to protect against low temperatures.

Although cranberries are very tart alone, they taste delicious boiled with raw sugar, cooked down with apples, or made into a countless variety of sauces and chutneys.