In the USA & in the home garden

The wet harvest of the American cranberry

In the USA the cranberry is of great culinary importance and it is hard to imagine a recipe without it. They have traditionally been part of the Thanksgiving menu since the days of the first settlers, the Pilgrim Fathers - just like the famous turkey. For this reason the cultivation takes place of bright red berries on large plantations. In autumn, however, the fruits are not harvested by hand, but rather - due to the size of the growing area - with the help of water. To do this, the North American farmers flood the cranberry fields up to a height of 45 centimeters, so that the water level is higher than the bushes. The berries are loosened from the bushes by artificially created whirlpools and then crammed together in huge containers. The berries float on the surface of the water because their four air chambers give them enough buoyancy. By the way, because of this harvesting method, some people believe that cranberries only grow in water. Of course that's not true.

The harvest in the home garden

Your garden will probably not be as spectacular as on the American plantations. You will have to hand pick your berries. But how do you actually know whether the cranberries are actually already ripe?

Features of ripe cranberries

• bright red to dark red skin
• The pulp is also colored red
• the berries should be firm and pressure-resistant

Some advisors recommend harvesting the fruit in January, as it is only then fully ripe. However, this is not advisable, especially in our latitudes, because Cranberries do not tolerate frost. The optimal time for harvesting is between mid-September and the end of October. You can test beforehand whether the fruits are actually already ripe. To do this, pick one or two cranberries from the bush and cut through them with a sharp knife. The pulp should also be colored red. On the other hand, the fruits are immature when the skin is red but the flesh is still green.

Harvest and storage of the ripe cranberries

To harvest the ripe berries, simply pluck them from the bush. The fresh fruits can be kept in the refrigerator for about three weeks, provided they are undamaged. You can the Consume berries raw, but they taste good processed into jam, sauce or compote significantly better. On the other hand, they are particularly durable and versatile dried cranberry fruitsthat you can make yourself with a little patience.

Tips & Tricks

You can check the quality of the fruit with the "hop test". Only flawless berries jump up as soon as they fall on a smooth surface. Inferior or damaged ones, on the other hand, simply stay there.