In the USA, cranberries are grown industrially on huge plantations. The red fruits are harvested in autumn - a spectacular event as the fields are simply flooded and the berries are carried away by whirlpools. Such techniques are probably not feasible in the home garden, which is why we answer some important questions about “cranberry harvesting” in this article.
When are cranberries ripe and when is harvest time?
Cranberries are ripe when they have a bright red to dark red skin, solid red flesh and a plump, firm consistency. The optimal harvest time is between mid-September and the end of October to avoid frost damage.
The wet harvest of the American cranberry
In the USA, the cranberry has great culinary importance and is an integral part of hardly any recipe. They have been a traditional part of the Thanksgiving menu since the days of the first settlers, the Pilgrim Fathers - just like the famous turkey. For this reason, the bright red berries are grown on large plantations. However, the fruits are not harvested by hand in autumn, but - due to the size of the growing area - with the help of water. To do this, North American farmers flood the cranberry fields to a height of 45 centimeters so that the water level is higher than the bushes. The berries are separated from the bushes using artificially created whirlpools of water and then crammed into huge containers. The berries float on the surface of the water because they have enough buoyancy thanks to their four air chambers. Because of this harvesting method, some people believe that cranberries only grow in water. Of course that's not true.
The harvest in the home garden
Your garden is probably not as spectacular as the American plantations. You will have to harvest your berries by hand. But how do you actually know whether the cranberries are actually ripe?
Characteristics of ripe cranberries
- bright red to dark red shell
- The flesh is also colored red
- the berries should be plump and firm to the touch
Some guides recommend not harvesting the fruit until January as it will only be completely ripe then. However, this is not recommended, especially in our latitudes, because cranberries cannot tolerate frost. The optimal time for harvesting is between mid-September and the end of October. You can test beforehand whether the fruits are actually ripe. To do this, pick one or two cranberries from the bush and cut them with a sharp knife. The flesh should also be red in color. On the other hand, the fruits are unripe if the peel is red but the flesh is still green.
Harvesting and storing ripe cranberries
To harvest the ripe berries, simply pick them from the bush. The fresh fruits will last for around three weeks in the refrigerator - provided they are undamaged. You can eat the berries raw, but they taste much better when made into jam, sauce or compote. Dried cranberry fruits, on the other hand, are particularly durable and versatile, and you can make them yourself with a little patience.
Tips & Tricks
You can check the quality of the fruit with the “hopping test”. Only perfectly good berries jump up as soon as they fall on a smooth surface. On the other hand, inferior or damaged ones simply remain lying there.
