04/07/06 Cranberries

The incredible cranberry. I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report. I am always amazed at the number and variety of commodities grown in the Pacific Northwest. One of those has always been a personal favorite of mine and a bit if a treat. Cranberries. I was surprised to find out that cranberries have been grown in Oregon, Washington and Canada since the late 1800's and in the past several years, production has increased significantly. Bob Radford is the Fresh Fruit Manager for Ocean Spray, the nations largest manufacturer of cranberry products. RADFORD: If you include Canada, we're about 30 percent of the total Ocean Spray crop. Last year Washington did 183,000 barrels, our Bandon growers did 165,000 and British Columbia 714,000. As far as use of cranberries, I'd say 2/3 of all the cranberries we produce go into juice and the rest into sauce and sweet & dried cranberries. That market has really taken off. After doing a bit of research, I find out that these tart little berries are packed with healthy benefits. Drinking cranberry juice has long been known the help alleviate urinary tract infections but that seems to be the tip of the iceberg. Research is being done on anti-cancer, anti-aging, dental, heart and ulcer benefits. It seems these small fruits, dubbed "red gold", contain significant amounts of antioxidants and a number of other phytonutrients, more than 19 other commonly eaten fruits. One researcher admits that cranberries should be eaten more often. I also ran across some interesting fun facts about cranberries. " Cranberries can be sorted for ripeness by bouncing them; a fully ripened cranberry can be dribbled like a basketball. " Americans consume some 400 million pounds of cranberries each year. About 80 million pounds -- or 20 percent -- are gobbled up during Thanksgiving week. " There are 4,400 cranberries in one gallon of juice. " Native Americans used cranberries to make a survival cake known as pemmican. They also used the fruit in poultices and dyes. " The cranberry gets its name from Dutch and German settlers, who called it "crane berry." When the vines bloom in the late spring and the flowers` light pink petals twist back, they have a resemblance to the head and bill of a crane. So don't wait for the holidays. Enjoy more cranberries today. That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.