Tingly Cranberries: Your Vitamins on the Red Carpet

It’s early autumn, and you’re exploring Canada. In the distance, you spot a lake bordered by a strange, red landscape, with a texture reminiscent of a freshly made tennis court. You head toward the lake and realize at the last moment: stepping onto that red surface might not be a good idea. What’s going on here?

Anna Moscagiuri

18.04.2024

in #Produkt-Stories

Lesedauer: 5 Minuten

A Water Show Like No Other

You take a closer look at the red expanse and discover that the lake actually starts right here! You didn’t notice because the water is filled with tiny red spheres dancing on the surface. Are you in bubble tea heaven? No, you’re witnessing a spectacular scene that is both brilliantly simple and incredibly labor-intensive.

Harvest Experts in Action

You take in the scene: further out in the water, men in full-body rubber suits wade through the red soup, raking the little spheres in one direction. What might look like a crime scene cleanup is actually the sophisticated harvest of a tart little fruit called the cranberry. The berries float by the millions because the field where they grow is flooded just before harvest. This is the easiest way to collect them from their knee-high shrubs.

Physics Takes Over

Cranberry fields are always located near large water reservoirs. The harvest often begins with the simple opening of a gate, allowing the stored water to rush onto the adjacent fields. From this point on, physics becomes the best helper: once the shrubs are submerged, the ripe cranberries float to the surface, forming an impressive red carpet. The berries float because they contain four air-filled chambers inside, giving them buoyancy and making them easy prey for the farmers, who are ready and waiting for the big suction.

Gentle Force

To ensure as many berries as possible detach from the shrubs, some assistance is required: either by creating a swirling current or using specialized vehicles that plow through the water and gently shake the plants. They must be careful, though, as the buds for the next generation of cranberries are already developing on the shrubs and must not be damaged.

Old Name, New Frame

When the buds open in spring, the shape of the flowers resembles a crane’s beak. This similarity was noticed by the first German and Dutch settlers in North America, who quickly dubbed the fruit “Kranichbeeren” (crane berries). The English language adapted this into the trendier “cranberries,” paving the way for their global success. Less well-known is their “second name.” At least in Germany, they’re sometimes called “Moosbeere” (moss berry), due to their preferred habitat in forests, moors, and heaths. Even in North America, cranberry fields are traditionally called “bogs,” the English word for swamps and marshes.

Red, Round, Ready to Roll

Back in the quirky ball pit: A floating barrier surrounds the dancing berries in the water, gradually pushing them closer together. The goal is to funnel them toward the large suction pipe that will pump them by the ton onto the waiting trucks. There, they receive a first rinse on the spot before being transported to nearby processing facilities. Once the red carpet is harvested, the plantation water is redirected through channels and pipes to flood the next field. This creates a resource cycle that combines efficiency with conservation.

Next Level Cranberry

At the processing plant, the berries are first sorted by size and ripeness. Those that pass this check move on to flavor processing. Pure cranberries are so tart that they would give most people quite a harsh sour kick – an acquired taste, to say the least. To make these fruity nutrient bombs more palatable, a juicy solution has been devised. It all starts with some pressure.

The Freshness Shock with a Sweet Twist

The first step is pressing, during which the berries lose almost half of their juice. Cranberries that will be sold as halves are also cut at this stage. While the whole and halved berries wait for the next step, the pressed juice is mixed with sugar. The idea is for the cranberries to reabsorb their juice, but with a sweeter flavor profile. So, they are returned to the sweetened, warmed juice, allowing everything to reunite harmoniously. Afterward, they enter a drying tunnel, where hot circulating air bids them farewell to their Canadian homeland. Soon, they’ll be packed and on their way to us in Ulm.

One and a Half Decades

We have been nurturing our partnerships with cranberry producers in eastern Canada for over 15 years. This region is one of the world's best growing areas for the popular superfood and boasts centuries-old traditions with these small, tart wonders. We are doubly proud of our strong collaborations with many local farmers. Our condition for these partnerships is our producers sharing one important thing with us: the grand vision of a world where people and the environment are in harmony. Our partners demonstrate this commitment on the daily by continuously developing more refined techniques to use fewer resources and by transforming the impact of their work into positive outcomes. That’s why we say: Yes, we Cranberry!

Enjoyment with a Clear Conscience

You are what you eat. As such, it only makes sense for us to show you how and where your snacks come to life. But enough talk – where are the stars? Grab your refreshing tart power from premium Canadian cultivation. Guaranteed from a good home and raised with love. <3