In the US, the fourth Thursday of November is devoted to a very special holiday, Thanksgiving. Because food is such a central part of Thanksgiving, and because the Thanksgiving foods have such an interesting history, weaving together nutrition, agriculture and culture, we thought that we would take the opportunity this week to provide you with a series about the Thanksgiving foods, with a couple of recipes and cooking hints thrown in.
Cranberries grow on vines that, if well cared for, live indefinitely.
The Northeast, Northwest, Wisconsin and Quebec all share the characteristic that the land was covered in glaciers in the last Ice Age, about 10,000 years ago. The gravel, sand and clay provide just the right amount of drainage for these plants that prefer abundant fresh water, and the peat provides the acidic soil that keeps them healthy. Vitamin C Long before vitamin C was discovered, and long before the English Pilgrims came to America, Native Americans knew that cranberries could prevent scurvy. In addition to eating cranberries fresh, they combined crushed cranberries, meat and fat into strips which they dried to form pemmican. Pemmican served as a food for winter and for long voyages, when fruits were unavailable.