"cranberries" news and stories

Cranberry sauce is the most ubiquitous Thanksgiving condiment -- perhaps even more so than gravy. Whether it's conditioning or tradition (or force feeding from our parents at a young age), it seems to go perfectly with everything on a late November plate. And though a glob of it straight out of a can is hilarious to look at, it pales in comparison to homemade cranberry sauce, which happens to be ridiculously easy to make.

This version from Flickr user rachel is coconut&lime is a little more time-consuming than most, but only because there are pomegranate arils (seeds) in the sauce.

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Cranberry sauce is the yin to the Thanksgiving turkey's yang with its perfect flavor balance of sweet and tart.

Get this cranberry sauce recipe along with many others after the jump.

Korean Kalbi with Tofu and Oyster Mushrooms. Photo: Special*Dark, Flickr.

• The ins and outs of harvesting cranberries: the history, the pros, how the good ones "bounce," plus a cranberry time line.
• Animal Farm's Jersey Cow butter hits hot spots like French Laundry and Per Se.
• Weymouth's Dunkin Donuts is one of the few in the country that take the "time to make the donuts" slogan to heart, by making the breakfast treats fresh.
• Taking a few steps into the past with a look at Tilly & Salvy's Bacon Street Farm -- a grocery store dating back to 1938.
• Chef Ming Tsai writes about Tokyo's exotic street eats while visiting the city for his dad's 80th birthday.
• The Stork Club will try to bring life back to the corner that used to hold Bob's Southern Bistro.
• A Q&A with Patricia Yeo of Ginger Park.
• Partially prepared foods allow the busy to cook at home under time constraints.
• "The Gastrokid Cookbook" says you shouldn't "cook down" to kids.
• Twenty-six years later, India Quality is traditional fare without the fusion confusion of many new digs.
• Taste Coffee House brings high coffee culture to the Boston area.
• Woo Jung Restaurant serves up Korean food with a homey and familial feel.
• Recipes: Locro, Garlic Ramen Noodles, Beef and Veggie Stir-Fry, Chicken Caesar Salad, Vegetable Curry, Accidental Agrodolce Chicken.

What's going to be on your table this Thanksgiving for dessert? My family is doing a combination of pies and cookies, with a little bit of ice cream to go along side. However, if I weren't in charge of the turkey/stuffing/gravy operation, I'd seriously consider adding this Cornmeal Ricotta Cake with Cranberries to the menu. I love the bright color of the berries and I imagine the texture that the cornmeal adds is a really nice one.

Thanks Sassy Radish, for adding this picture to the Slashfood Flickr pool.

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Quick: what are the four fruit species native to North America?

You probably immediately got blueberries and cranberries, for an instant two of four. After speculating about pumpkins before remembering that they are not exclusively indigenous to the Americas, you might have had a eureka moment about concord grapes (three of four). And if you grew up in the American south or plains, and if someone remembered to point them out, you deserve the back pat you gave yourself for remembering pawpaws (four of four, with extra credit if you've ever actually partaken).

Some hate on blueberries, which share the same genus as cranberries, but this time of year, everyone loves the species Vaccinium, whose call name is the cranberry. To Native Americans who introduced cranberries to hungry pilgrims, the plant was called sassamanash, and was known for the same cleansing properties that your urologist and your mother cite today. So, yes, we drink cranberry juice all year long, but along with stuffing (filling if you're Pennsylvania Dutch, or dressing if you're southern, or "pass the platter" if you're an avuncular distant uncle on his second beer before kickoff) cranberry sauce is the signature side dish of Thanksgiving. Here is a crash course on cranberries.