Wednesday, 26 September 2012

Cranberries

While driving from Newport to Plymouth we passed a number of cranberry bogs. Meriam just had to get out and investigate! As perhaps most of you know, cranberries grow on bushes. However, we discovered there are two ways to harvest cranberries. When dry harvested, the cranberries are typically sold whole or as dried cranberries. However, this method of harvesting is more expensive since the berries are typically harvested by hand. Wet harvesting is done by flooding the cranberry fields with water. They are then harvested with rather strange looking machines. These machines will remove the berries from the plant. The berries then float to the surface where they are “skimmed” off by hand.

This is probably more than you ever wanted to know about cranberries!

Wet harvesting

Notice the cranberries under the water while they are still attached to the bush!

These are dry harvested cranberries. We found these at a farmer’s market associated with Plimoth Plantation

Besides the corn MB has in her arms, can you guess what else she bought here? If not, find the most conspicuous sign in the background. Yet another 5 pounds to the waistline!!