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Tag: cranberries

It’s Cranberry Season!

cranberries
Cranberries are a wetland fruit and grown in bogs.
Photo: Canva.com

Are you still wanting to do some canning? This time of year, cranberries are in season. So here are some recipes from the National Center for Home Food Preservation to preserve cranberries for your own use, or for gift giving.

The berries should be brightly colored: fully red or yellowish-red with a smooth, glossy and firm skin. Shriveled, soft, wrinkled berries or those with surface blemishes should be discarded. Berries can be stored in the original packaging in the refrigerator crisper for up to 4 weeks. Cranberries can also be stored frozen for up to one year. To use after freezing, rinse in cold water and drain well.

 

Fighting Norovirus with Cranberries

Maine cranberries

Cranberries have beneficial properties for our health, including kidney and urinary tract health.  New research has found another use for cranberries, to fight the foodborne illness Norovirus associated with fresh produce.

This preliminary study is a new treatment using cranberry juice and fruit extract to make an edible coating that is sprayed onto produce. When used along with a low dosage of gamma irradiation, or cold pasteurization, the study showed the coating eliminated contamination. Without the coating, the dosage of irradiation needed to kill norovirus is three kilograys. But with the cranberry coating, that dosage can be cut in half. This reduction can help preserve the quality properties of produce.

Norovirus is caused by person-to-person contact, touching contaminated surfaces, and consuming contaminated food or water.

Sources: www.ift.org/iftnext/2020/april/a-new-tool-in-the-fight-against-foodborne-infections and https://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/index.html