ALTHOUGH WE DON’T KNOW FOR SURE WHAT WAS ON THE
MENU DURING THE FIRST THANKSGIVING, WE KNOW THAT CRANBERRIES --
TART RED BERRIES NATIVE TO NORTH AMERICA -- WHERE FIRST ENJOYED BY
NATIVE AMERICANS -- AND THEY’VE BECOME A TURKEY DAY TRADITION!
THESE UNUSUAL BERRIES GROW IN SOFT, WET MUDDY GROUNDS KNOWN AS
BOGS, OR MARSHES – SO, GET YOUR BOOTS ON, BECAUSE UP NEXT, WE HEAD
STRAIGHT TO THE SOURCE TO SEE WHAT THESE BERRIES LOOK LIKE BEFORE
THEY HIT OUR DINNER TABLE!
THE HARVEST STARTED
AND ALREADY - EARLY VARIETIES OF THE BERRY ARE COMING IN STRONG.
(Mary Brazeau Brown / Glacier Lake Cranberries Owner) "Harvest is a great time of year
because it's what we work for all year long."
IN WISCONSIN RAPIDS... WHERE 14 CRANBERRY MARSHES RESIDE....
LONGTIME OWNER OF GLACIAL LAKE CRANBERRIES, MARY BRAZAEU
BROWN, SAYS IT'S A LIFESTYLE SHE LOVES.
(Mary Brazeau Brown / Glacier Lake Cranberries Owner) "We grow about 10 million
pounds of fruit a year and it's really important for me to get the true tart taste and natural
goodness of cranberries out there year round."
BUT BEFORE THEY CAN BRING THAT GOODNESS OF CRANBERRIES TO THEIR
CUSTOMERS...IT TAKES A WHOLE LOT OF WORK AND A LITTLE BIT OF LOVE.
(Mary Brazeau Brown / Glacier Lake Cranberries Owner) "As we harvest we put water
on, float the berries up into the vines, we take a mechanical rake, rake the berries off the
vine."
(Reporter) "And it may be a windy day out here but they're saying that the wind helps
with the cranberry harvest process. They saying it's wind made to order to help corral
those cranberries in."
(Mary Brazeau Brown / Glacier Lake Cranberries Owner) ""They get run through a
degrasser, a grater, an optical sorter and they're put in thousand pound totes and taken
to the freezer."
AND IF THE FRUIT BEING NATIVE AND NATURAL ISN'T ENOUGH...
THE HEALTH BENEFITS OFTEN MAKE CUSTOMERS A FAN.
(Mary Brazeau Brown / Glacier Lake Cranberries Owner) "It's good for oral health, gut
health, urinary tract."
THE U.S. CRANBERRY MARKETING COMMITTEE IS EVEN PREDICTING A SOLID
CROP. ESTIMATING FIVE-POINT-EIGHT MILLION BARRELS OF CRANBERRIES THIS
HARVEST SEASON FOR THE WISCONSIN GROWING REGION.
Instructional Links
Website Article: Ocean Spray, Cranberry Harvest
http://www.oceanspray.com/Who-We-Are/Harvest/Cranberry.aspx
Encyclopedia Article: World Book Student, Cranberry
May Need Password
Video: The Kid Should See This, How Does It Grow? Cranberries
http://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/cranberries-how-does-it-grow
Website Article: Superkids Nutrition, Superfoods, Cranberries
http://www.superkidsnutrition.com/sf_cranberries/
Website Article: The Pioneer Woman, Thanksgiving Dinner: Cranberry Sauce
http://thepioneerwoman.com/food-and-friends/thanksgiving-dinner-how-to-make-cranberry-sauce/