Monday, November 7, 2005

Cranberry Harvest At Mann Farm

 11/6-11/7

Picture from Hometown

 

Mann Farm in Buzzards Bay

Mann Farm is that big boggy thing in the back... makes for a cool aerial.

http://www.umassd.edu/semap/handbook/buzzardsbay.cfm

 

These cranberries- after washing and processing- may very well end up on your Thanksgiving dinner table.

 

The cranberry itself is too tart to even try to eat- something Sloppy Dog figured out almost immediately, but not immediately enough.

The Cranberry Sauce on your dinner table has been cut with so much sugar, it might turn into Cornholio!

 

^^^  These bogs are flooded one at a time, meaning that the local Canadian Geese population has to sort of hop from bog to bog. They were pretty pissed about it, and they did not agree to be used in this photograph.

 

I didn't hang around all day, but I got the basic idea of how the process goes. This guy drives that thing around, loosening up the berries, which then float to the surface.

 

Then this dude walks around with a big net, pulling the floaters to shore. There were a guy and a lady on land holding the rest of the net, but their picture didn't come out... and keep in mind, the above picture counts as a good photo, so when I reject one... total darkness. I even failed to get the Moon, and it was the only thing in the sky when I aimed the camera.

 

All the berries go into that truck, by use of a machine that didn't want to be photographed.

 

Why I Don't Take The Photographs Here Part II, or Why I Owe The Colonel A Fat Dinner For Going Out Into The Bog This Morning And Correcting My Mistakes.

I cook better than I photograph:

RECIPE FOR CRANBERRY SAUCE!

A simple cranberry sauce can be made with roughly 2 parts cranberries, 1 part water and 1 part granulated sugar by weight.

So, begin with a one pound bag of fresh cranberries, one cup water, and one cup granulated sugar. The sugar can be increased to 1-1/2 cup if a sweeter sauce is desired (I use honey- about a half cup to every 2 cups of cranberries).

Rinse the berries in a colander and remove and stems or bad berries. There's no need to spend too much time on this step(unless you steal the berries right out of Mann Farm in Buzzards Bay). You can also use frozen cranberries - just rinse them and don't worryabout defrosting them.

In a medium saucepan, heat the water and sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Then bringthe syrup up to a boil and pour in the cleaned berries.Adjust the heat so the mixture maintains a simmer and cook until all the berries pop or crack open, about five minutes to seven minutes. Take the sauce off the heat at this point, or simmer it down to the desired thickness. Remember the sauce will thicken a little while cooling. Chill overnight in the refrigerator before serving.

While simmering the berries, additional ingredients can be added for more flavoring such as orange zest, flavored liquors, or spices like cinnamon.
( I've tried it with rum and maple syrup, although it's a whole other animal at that point).

Cooking For Engineers - Recipe File: Cranberry Sauce

 (the comments are my own)

 

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

What  great photos.  Your work is good.  I haven't been up in Buzzards Bay since 1974.

Anonymous said...

Wow, this was so interesting.  Honestly.  I had no clue this is how we got cranberries.  

But is it sad that my first thought of cranberries is not Thanksgiving but urinary tract infections?  he he

Chris
http://journals.aol.com/swibirun/Inanethoughtsandinsaneramblings
http://www.bigoven.com/~swibirun

Anonymous said...

That has to be the saddest thing I ever heard.  It's not like they have ever even read your journal and to just dis it like that.  I would be so offended.  
Dianne

Anonymous said...

While I can't vouch for the veracity of this method, I had students who claimed to beat drug tests by drinking obscene amounts of cranberry juice.

Anonymous said...

Wow, great photos! That's the most appetizing bowl of cranberries I've ever seen. I don't think I can settle for the canned jelly stuff this year now. Gotta try your recipe.
:)

Anonymous said...

Beautiful! OOO! and your recipe..yummyyummy yummy!
hugs,natalie

Anonymous said...

My favorite meal is a Thanksgiving and cornbread dressing with cranberry sauce. If I ever had to have a request for a last meal, that's what it would be. Thanks for the information and nice pictures...i am so hungry now.

Not quite sure what all the discussion is about the SBL radio story is though. Maybe you can boil it down for someone with ADD.

Way to go Monpon, and congrats to your award.

Lew

Anonymous said...

The pics of the bogs look like a soft carpet!  I'll have to try that recipe.  Cranberry relish is good, too!
Lori

Anonymous said...

Those are some great photos and an interesting insight into something I've never really thought about before.  I especially like those two really dark photos that don't hurt my eyes like all the normal bright colored ones do!  :D  

Anonymous said...

i think cranberry juice is as close to the actual cranberry as i'd want to get. even that has sugar in it and i still make a face when i drink it. :)

Anonymous said...

That was WAY cool.  I love cranberries.

~~ jennifer

Anonymous said...

Boy, does that work! I always wanted to see a cranberry harvest!
Tess

Anonymous said...

These are beautiful.  I've never seen a cranberry field before.  Wow!!
gina