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Where are Cranberries Grown?
Most cranberries are grown in the United States; specifically, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Oregon, New Jersey, and Washington. But they can be grown all across the upper US; I’ve seen Michigan cranberries for sale at the Logan Square Farmers Market in Chicago, so you don’t have to be in one of the top producing states to find fresh cranberries at the farmers market.
I’ve always found it cool that cranberries are grown in bogs, and are harvested by flooding the area and scooping up the fruit that floats to the top. It’s a pretty unique way of harvesting a crop.
Can I Use Fresh, Frozen, or Dried Cranberries?
Fresh cranberries can usually be found from November to January. You’re also more likely to find frozen cranberries during the same time, as that’s generally when the public demands them (holidays, you know?). But sometimes you can get lucky and find frozen cranberries outside the holiday season.
In most cases, you can substitute frozen cranberries for fresh cranberries and vice versa. Depending on the dish, you won’t need to thaw the frozen cranberries; the big exception I could think of would be baked goods, where you’d want to remove any excess moisture. But if you’re roasting or making a sauce, you don’t need to worry about defrosting the frozen berries.
While I do love snacking on dried cranberries (more in the past than currently), I am fully aware that they are full of sugar. Sometimes you can get lucky and find dried cranberries that are sweetened with apple juice rather than cane sugar. In any case, I prefer cooking with unsweetened cranberries, which means I’m using fresh or frozen versions.
Savory Cranberry Appetizers
I know it’s not strictly an appetizer per se, but try making your own cranberry juice. You can use less processed sweeteners as well as customize the sweetness level. To make it more of an “appetizer,” turn this homemade cranberry juice into your own mixed drink creations.
Toss some roasted cranberries in a fall salad with butternut squash and chickpeas. Use this recipe from Peas and Crayons as a guide. I’d bet the smoky, crispy chickpeas serve as a perfect pairing with the juicy cranberries in this salad.
Savory Cranberry Side Dishes
One of the first savory dishes I made with fresh cranberries was a roasted green bean and cranberry side dish. While I never wrote up what I did for that dish, I found this recipe from May I Have That Recipe that comes pretty close. I would leave out the confectioners sugar altogether; the oil and the spice would be more than sufficient to balance out the extreme cranberry tartness. However, if you aren’t as much of a tart fan as I am, or still feel the need to sweeten the dish, I’d recommend using date paste or honey as a less-processed sweetener.
Cranberries and brussels sprouts may sound like a crazy combo, but it is crazy delicious. Try this recipe from Food with Feeling. If you don’t like balsamic vinegar (like me), apple cider vinegar would be a great substitute. You could also substitute walnuts or almonds for the pecans.
It’s definitely not Whole30, but Savory Cranberry Bread Pudding sounds like a great treat. My husband loves bread pudding, so maybe I’ll find a way to surprise him with it sometime this holiday season. I’ll likely drastically decrease the sugar content in this recipe, or replace it with apple juice, or some other more complex sweetener.
Savory Cranberry Sauces
I bet you didn’t think you could use cranberries in a Mexican fusion dish, but they pair extremely well with spice! This cranberry salsa recipe uses jalapeños to create a spicy counterpoint to the tart berries. Adjust the sweetness level to taste; if you want to keep it Whole30, use some chopped up dates to balance everything out.
This is more of a classic cranberry sauce, but it has far less sugar than most recipes. Try substituting honey instead of white sugar for more flavor (and you can use less honey to get the same sweetness as you would get from white sugar).
