Recipes Using Fresh Cranberries (2024)

FAQs

How to prepare fresh cranberries for baking? ›

If your cranberries are on the larger size, we'd cut them in half or quarters before baking. Toss them with a little flour so they won't sink in the batter, too!

Avoid cranberries that look bruised or shriveled. Before use, rinse fresh or frozen cranberries and discard any that are damaged. It is not necessary to rinse before freezing, and there is also no need to clean dried cranberries. When cooking, heat cranberries just until they pop.

There are lots of ways to add this fruit to your diet. Some varieties, such as dried cranberries, cranberry juice, and canned cranberry sauce, are available year-round. The healthiest way to enjoy cranberries is to eat them fresh. Raw cranberries take about 16 months to fully mature and are gathered in early fall.

There's really not much you need to do to prepare fresh cranberries for baking. I just soaked and rinsed my berries to wash them off and then folded them into my cranberry orange pound cake batter. Pro tip: toss your fresh cranberries with a little flour so they won't sink in the batter!

Your recipe should specify whether to use chopped cranberries or not. If it doesn't, be sure to measure your cranberries before chopping them. Follow this guide: If the recipe says to use "1 cup (250 mL) cranberries" chop the cranberries first, then measure them.

Is it safe to eat cranberries raw? Cranberries are generally considered safe whether they are cooked or raw. However, because of their notoriously bitter, sharp taste, most people prefer not to eat them raw or unsweetened. This bitterness is due to the high tannin content of cranberries.

Wet Harvesting

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. Water reels, nicknamed “egg-beaters” are used to stir up the water in the bogs.

Rehydrate the fruits: Dried fruits can be quite hard and dry, so it's often a good idea to rehydrate them before adding them to your baked goods. To do this, simply soak the dried fruits in warm water or fruit juice for 15-20 minutes until they are plump and tender.

Try some crumbled chèvre or feta with fresh cranberries for a salad that is as pretty to look at as it is tasty to eat. Don't love fresh, whole cranberries? No problem! Vermont Creamery's Cranberry and Tarragon Goat Cheese Crumbles use slightly sweetened dried cranberries.

Blueberries contain more thiamin, niacin, and folate, while cranberries have more pantothenic acid. Pantothenic acid helps turn the food you eat into the energy you need. Cranberries have a total antioxidant capacity of 8,983 per cup.

Are cranberries anti inflammatory? ›

Cranberries have anti-inflammatory effects, thanks to their high amounts of antioxidants, especially anthocyanins and flavanols, which give cranberries their dark hue. “Antioxidants have been shown to reduce the risk of certain chronic diseases because they can help lower inflammation in our bodies,” says O'Neill.

Stomach health.

Antioxidants in cranberry juice, particularly A-type proanthocyanidins, can help prevent the growth of a bacteria called Helicobacter pylori that causes stomach ulcers. Drinking cranberry juice may help reduce infections of this bacteria.

This is very simple, and works on any kind of dried fruit. Put your dried fruit in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Let it steep for 10 to 15 minutes, and then strain the fruit and discard the water. The fruit will be plumper, juicier, and softer.

Anything from a drizzle of honey to agave, maple syrup, or molasses will also fare well. After a few minutes of maceration, the sour fruit juices will mix with the sugar and alleviate some of the cranberries' natural tartness.

Can I substitute dried cranberries in recipes that call for fresh cranberries? Yes, dried cranberries work well in baked goods; however there is a ¼ cup difference in measurement. If a recipe calls for one cup of fresh or frozen cranberries, use ¾ cup of sweetened dried cranberries.