Norwood CSA Food Co-op: Bright Bitter Berries

by Kristine Paulus

Locally grown cranberries arrived in recent fruit shares, just in time for socially distanced Thanksgiving celebrations. The bag in which they came includes a surprisingly simple recipe for classic cranberry sauce: just add a cup of sugar and boil in water. Related to blueberries, Vaccinium macrocarpon (American cranberry) is a low-growing shrub native to North America. White bell-shaped flowers are thought to look like sandhill cranes, prompting German and Dutch settlers to call them craneberries (the “e” fell away at some point). In Unami, a Lenape language, they are known as ibimi, which means “bitter berry,” referring to its tart flavor.

Cranberries are known for thriving in bogs but the plants are somewhat adaptable. Like other members of the Ericaceae family, which includes blueberries, heaths, heathers, azaleas and rhododendrons, they prefer acidic soil but don’t need to be waterlogged. They can be found growing in the nearby New York Botanical Garden’s Native Plant Garden, Azalea Garden and Rock Garden sections. There is also one growing in a container at Bainbridge Avenue Garden. Although usually grown for its edible fruit, cranberry is a rather pretty perennial with shiny evergreen foliage, trailing branches, pollinator-friendly flowers and bright red berries, giving it considerable ornamental value as well.