Picture of the Week: Thanksgiving edition

Public Domain Photo

In honor of the holiday, here is a picture of the fall cranberry harvest.  Made famous by the cheeky Ocean Spray commercials, cranberries are harvested in these large bogs.  Grown in lowlands, the cranberries float off of their vines when the fields are flooded for harvest thanks to large air pockets in the berry.  These beautiful scarlet berries have been a big crop up here in Wisconsin since the 1860s, where they are now grown in 20 counties.  They are considered one of the healthiest fruits around for their high antioxidant concentrations, but beware the trap of the dried cranberry. Until a few years ago, these snacks were more than 50% added sugar....now they are 51% cranberry and 49% sugar.  If you would like more information about cranberries, don't miss the Thanksgiving time lectures by Dr. Robert Skirvin at U of Illinois. He taught me everything I know about these little bouncing berries.