Coming to you from Chatsworth, NJ.
Posted on 11/23/2005 3:21:45 PM PST by SJackson
WAUSAU, Wis. -- Families planning a big Thanksgiving Day meal had no trouble finding fresh cranberries to complement the feast, but that may not be true for the Christmas holidays, say growers of the bright red, tart and tangy fruit.
"Buy two, freeze one. The old motto," said Tom Lochner, executive director of the Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association, referring to bags of fresh cranberries now plentiful on grocery shelves.
Wisconsin, the nation's leading cranberry-producing state, harvested an average crop this fall, but yields were down in Massachusetts and Washington, leading to concerns of tighter fresh fruit supplies next month, particularly in areas outside the Midwest, Lochner said.
Ray Habelman Sr., co-owner of Habelman Brothers Co., which grows 650 acres of cranberries near Tomah, all for fresh markets, said demand for his crop was up in areas outside of Wisconsin.
"There could possibly be a shortage for the Christmas holidays," he said.
About 25 percent of the consumption of fresh cranberries, sauces and juices in the United States takes place between Thanksgiving and Christmas, according to Lochner.
Dan Servi, 53, of Wausau, said he and his wife would have cranberries with their Thanksgiving meal, but not the fresh ones. They preferred jelled cranberries from a can.
"The fresh ones are more bitter. The jelled ones are sweeter," Servi said. "It's like dessert while you are eating. Throw away the apple pie. I will eat the cranberries."
More than 90 percent of Thanksgiving dinners include cranberry sauce, according to Ocean Spray, an agricultural cooperative formed 75 years ago by three cranberry growers and now North America's leading producer of canned and bottled juices and juice drinks.
Consumers eat nearly 11 billion cranberries each holiday season, Ocean Spray said.
About 45,000 acres of cranberries are grown each year in the United States, primarily in Wisconsin, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Washington and Oregon.
Wisconsin's 250 growers harvested about 3.3 million barrels of cranberries, about the same as a year ago but about 10 percent below some early projections that proved too optimistic, Lochner said. A barrel is 100 pounds.
"We had a real good bloom in June and July, the fruit set well and sized up early. Those factors had people thinking it was going to be a little bit bigger than it was. It was still a good crop," he said.
Prices for the fruit have rebounded from $8 to $12 a barrel a few years ago to $25 to $30 a barrel. They are still far below the $65 average of 1998, Lochner said.
"I think generally growers are in pretty good spirits," he said.
Nodji VanWychen, co-owner of Wetherby Cranberry Co. in Warrens, said her farm harvested an average crop of good quality.
"I guess that's all we can expect," she said. "We did have difficulty on color on the fruit this year because we didn't have any cold evenings in the month of September, which starts the cycle of turning red."
Supplies of fresh cranberries are tighter because the industry lost Northland Cranberries of Wisconsin Rapids, one of the larger processors, VanWychen said.
But planners of holiday feasts need not fret too much, the grower said.
"If you are not able to find the fresh fruit, there's lots of variety of cranberry products that are made that can be easily used at the holidays," she said.
Let me correct that for you........
lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of gravy.
There, much better :)
I've got 15 quarts of stock cooking on the stove right now, for turning into gravy tomorrow.
No, I'm not planning on making that much gravy, most will go in the freezer, but a massive quantity of gravy will be made, there is no such thing as too much gravy :)
I like the dried cranberry raisins and use them in salads.
Cranberry juice is magic for UTI's. Smart lady.
I have this major problem when it comes to cooking - I have no clue how to cook for only 3 people. I cook everything in quantity!!!!!
But you are correct - Gravy is a definite necessity for leftovers and so I will most likely make in the vicinity of at least 3 quarts.
We always ran out of gravy on the first round when I was growing up. My Mom never increased the volume over the years. 1 quart per person sounds like a good rule of thumb. I will suggest that at the table tomorrow!
I figured out how to make gravy because my mom couldn't. We never ran out of gravy, but after my grandparents moved to florida all we had was canned or jarred until I learned how to make it.
I remember one Sunday afternoon, a few years after I had moved to Delaware, mom lamenting how there was going to be no family at home for Thanksgiving dinner that year.....needless to say she guilted me enough that we went up to NYC, so I could make the gravy for her (according to her) - next thing I know, I'm cooking an entire Thanksgiving meal for 12 people....not to mention the to go packages I put together for my brother and his partner (he was a cop at the time) who stopped by on their meal break.
Production numbers, I think the 2005 must be estimates since the date of the report is August.
http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/reports/nassr/fruit/zcr-bb/cran0805.txt
I love homemade cranberry sauce made with whole cranberries. In my opinion there should be a 1:1 ratio of cranberry sauce to turkey.
Coming to you from Chatsworth, NJ.
Mmmm. Got a bag a couple of weeks ago. Will use them to make a Cranberry-Apple Pie for Christmas. Got some Jellied Sauce for the turkey. ;o)
Dang this is a slow news night...antway..cranberries are only good if you can throw 'em
Place 3 cups water and 2 cups sugar in medium saucepan. Heat water, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened.
Add 1/3 cup maple syrup, 1 cup orange juice, 3 TBS finely chopped orange rind, 1 TBS grated fresh ginger, and 1 pound fresh cranberries.
Let simmer until berries swell and begin to pop. Stir occasionally.
When berries reach desired consistency, strain through a fine sieve, place relish in container, cover, and chill until serving.
Enjoy, and Happy Thanksgiving!
Regards,
Jenny
Good luck with your Gravy Train endeavor.
Other than running to the supermarket first am (I forgot onions yesterday) I'm not going ANYWHERE tomorrow!!!!!! Or Friday........or the rest of the weekend, unless we decide to pop into the Moose Lodge on Saturday afternoon.
I absolutely refuse to go shopping this weekend - no one could pay me to go near a store.
Finally, a product that is still being made in the USA!
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