“Can you get these year-round?” my husband asked over breakfast. He was referring to the fresh cranberries I used for my cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving. We have happily discovered the leftovers make a yummy topping to our morning oatmeal.
Come to think of it, the only time I find fresh cranberries in our local grocery store is in November and December. Why is that?
According to the Cranberry Institute (cranberryinstitute.org) — a not-for-profit organization supported by those who farm these tart berries — cranberries ripen during the cool, crisp nights of fall and are harvested in September and October. That’s why the fresh version of cranberries are so hard to find after the holidays.
Other forms are available year-round, however. And they provide similar health benefits. Count one cup of fresh cranberries, 1/2 cup dried cranberries or 1/2 cup (4 ounces) of 100% cranberry juice as one of your needed 2 to 3 fruit servings each day.
Nutritionally, you’ll get plenty of dietary fiber — the substance that promotes gut health — in whole or dried cranberries. Cranberry juice doesn’t contain fiber but has all the other good ingredients as whole berries, including potassium, a nutrient that helps control blood pressue.
Although there has been some controversy over the role of cranberry products to prevent urinary tract infections (UTIs), more than 25 years of research has pretty much confirmed that they are beneficial for this purpose.
Scientists point to powerful flavonoid substances in cranberries that interfere with the ability of bad bacteria such as E. coli to adhere to the surface of the urinary tract, thus preventing infections. Drinking 8 to 16 ounces of cranberry juice (low sugar varieties work, too) a day is the amount shown to produce this benefit.
Other natural component in cranberries have also been shown to reduce the level of H. pylori, a bacteria that is a major risk factor for stomach ulcers. And like other berries, cranberries help promote heart health with naturally-occurring substances that help the body maintain healthful levels of cholesterol.
Cranberries are native to North America, along with blueberries and Concord grapes. I was surprised to learn that — despite some of the commercials I’ve seen —cranberries are not grown in water. Water is used during harvest to float the fruit for easier collection, and during the winter months to protect the plants from freezing. The rest of the year, the fruit is grown on dry beds, say cranberry farmers.
I tend to buy extra cranberries this time of year. And the Cranberry Institute says you can easily freeze those you don’t use right away. Just seal them in an airtight container and they will keep well in the frozen state for up to a year.
Oh, and don’t forget to try them on your morning oatmeal.
Barbara Quinn-Intermill is a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator affiliated with Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula. She is the author of “Quinn-Essential Nutrition” (Westbow Press, 2015). Email her at to [email protected].