Big Bend Eats
by Carolyn Brown Zniewski
C
ranberries are an indigenous
American fruit. Although I
always associate New England
with the bright red sour fruit, in fact
they grow all across North America in
colder regions and in South America
as well. Chile produces a large cran-
berry crop. They need acid soil, a
swampy area and a cold winter. A
cranberry bog keeps the roots wet, but
they do not grow in water. Before
farming equipment inventors devel-
oped the harvesting tools now in use,
farmers and their families gathered the
berries using specially-designed wood-
en racks with long, closely-set tines.
Present day harvesting is in flooded
bogs. When the berries are ripe in the
fall growers flood the bog. Specially
designed, rotating water reels, called
eggbeaters, travel through the flooded
bog loosening the berries from the
vines. Every cranberry has a small
pocket of air that causes it to float.
Harvesters corral the floating berries
and load them into lugs. Ocean Spray
Cranberries, the oldest cranberry com-
pany, started in the 1930s as three
farmers and has grown into a giant
cooperative of 900 growers all across
North America. It is the largest cran-
berry company anywhere.
Cranberries are on the table for
Thanksgiving and the winter holiday
celebrations, but do keep in mind they
are a great fruit for all winter long.
When you see them in the produce
department in the fall, buy a few extra
bags and toss them in the freezer to use
all through the season. I love cranber-
ry sauce anytime of the year. They are
high in vitamin C and iron. Drinking
eight ounces of juice daily can help
prevent urinary tract infections, and
they are delicious.
Here are three family recipes for
cranberry deliciousness.
Vermont Style Cranberry Sauce
1 cup water
¾ cup maple syrup
1 12 oz. bag cranberries
Put the water and syrup in a 4-quart
non-reactive kettle. Bring to a simmer,
stirring to dissolve the syrup. Simmer 3
minutes. Add the washed cranberries.
Bring to a full boil and boil about 7
minutes until all the berries have
popped their skins. Remove from the
heat and cool a few minutes. Pour into
a serving dish and refrigerate until
serving time.
Mrs. Button’s Cranberry
Pudding
This is an English-style pudding
that was originally steamed. The
recipe has been in my family for a very
long time. Two or three generations
ago some grandmother decided to
stick it in the oven instead of steaming
it. So here it is, a steamed pudding that
is baked.
½ cup + 2 Tablespoons sugar
3 Tablespoons melted butter
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ cups flour
Pinch of salt
¾ cup milk
2 cups whole cranberries
(can be frozen)
Preheat oven to 350’. Mix ingredi-
ents together, then stir cranberries into
the batter. Pour the batter into a but-
tered 1-quart baking dish or small
bundt pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes
until a toothpick inserted in the center
comes out clean. Cool and serve with
sauce.
Sauce for Cranberry Pudding:
½ cup butter
½ cup cream
½ cup white sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Combine ingredients in a saucepan
and heat over medium heat, stirring,
until butter is melted and sugar is dis-
solved. Serve warm. Make this once
and you will make it again and again.
Oh boy, it is so good.
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Rachel’s Cranberry Cookies
1 cup white sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup soft butter
¼ cup milk
2 Tablespoons orange juice
1 egg
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
2 ½ cups chopped cranberries
1 cup chopped pecans
Cream sugars and butter. Mix in
milk, orange juice and egg. Stir in dry
ingredients. Mix in berries and nuts.
Drop by heaping teaspoon onto a well-
buttered cookie sheet 2” apart. Bake at
375’ for about 12 minutes until light
brown. When cool, glaze with:
Brown Butter Glaze:
1/3 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
2 – 4 Tablespoons hot water
Heat butter in a saucepan until
brown. Stir in sugar and vanilla.
Slowly add water until glaze consisten-
cy. Glaze cool cookies. These keep well
in an airtight tin.
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Fourth Quarter 2015