Cranberries

part of: Cranberry

Cranberries are firm, glossy red berries with an intensely tart flavour that makes them almost inedible raw. They come into their own when cooked with sugar or dried, which tempers the acidity and brings out their fruity depth.

While not widely grown in Australia, cranberries are a familiar ingredient thanks to imported dried cranberries, juices, and sauces. Dried cranberries (sometimes called craisins) are popular in salads, muesli, and baking. Cranberry sauce is a classic accompaniment to roast turkey and other poultry.

Fresh cranberries have a short season and are mostly available as imports. They keep well in the fridge or freezer and are worth seeking out for homemade sauces and baked goods.

Farmed
photograph to come — from twenty years of markets, farms and kitchens

How it's made

Cranberries grow on low-lying vines in acidic, sandy bogs. At harvest time, the bogs are flooded and the berries — which have small air pockets inside — float to the surface, where they’re corralled and collected by machine. Fresh cranberries are sorted, cleaned, and packed for sale or sent to processing facilities for drying, juicing, or freezing.

Nutrition (per 100g)

Energy 31kcal
Protein 0.5g
Carbs 4.3g
Fat 0.1g
Fibre 3.6g Sugar 4.3g
Mass Distribution

1 cup, chopped is about 110 g — roughly 30 kcal of this.

What it costs the planet (per kilo)

Carbon 1.63kg
Freshwater 27.9L
Land 118m²

Where it comes from

In the kitchen

Used as

tart baking fruit

Goes well with
orange apple walnut cinnamon sugar
Classic dishes
  • Cranberry sauce
  • Cranberry muffins
  • Cranberry bread
  • Cranberry scones

Keeping one at home? Track yours in your cubud →

Where this data comes from

Nutrition data from

FSANZ + USDA

How it was calculated

Borrowed

Full credits, licences, and methods: the sources page →

Where to next

made fromCranberry, fruit goes well withorange goes well withapple goes well withwalnut goes well withcinnamon goes well withsugar shares a sourceCranberry Juice shares a sourceCranberry Juice Drinks & Cocktails shares a sourceCranberry Sauce & Relish shares a sourceDried Cranberries
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