Winter Cranfastical!

 

While taking time to be thankful for blessings like woodland treks and letting the garden beds slumber, we might consider Viburnum opulus var. americanum, the highbush cranberry.

If you’ve ever wanted for that traditional cranberry sauce (salsa or chutney) from your own fruit, then want no more. While lowbush (true cranberry) cranberries likely wouldn’t grow here in our valley, highbush cranberries can.

Variously referred to as American cranberry bush, guilder rose, dog rowan, marsh elder, rose, red, water or dog elder, gatten, whitten, snowball or ople tree, or even crampbark, highbush cranberries (not true cranberries) produce red fruits very much like the traditional true cranberry bush. Both high- and lowbush cranberries are North American natives.

Although the highbush fruits (or drupes) strongly resemble true cranberries in taste and appearance, and both are autumn maturing, these two plants are actually quite different. To begin with, lowbush cranberries are in the Ericaceae, the heather or heath family, and the highbush is in Caprifoliaceae, the honeysuckle family. This family has some 400 species with 11 tree species and multiple shrub species all native to North America.

Highbush cranberries are found across the US and Canada — from Alaska to Oregon in the west, to northern Virginia in the east, with isolated populations in New Mexico. The Natural Resources Conservation Service lists highbush cranberries as “endangered” in Indiana, “rare” in Pennsylvania, and “threatened” in Ohio.

Historically they were important staples for Native Americans who consumed them fresh and dried in pemmican. Their bark was also used for coughs and digestive disorders. Their leaves and twigs were gargled to ease sore throats, and their stems were used to make birch-bark basket rims.

Today, they can be dried and used as an alternative to true cranberries for making jams, jellies, juices, and, of course, that traditional holiday cranberry sauce, chutney, or salsa.  Like true cranberries, they’re high in vitamin C, phytonutrients and anthocyanin content.

Reaching 8’-10’ and similarly wide, American highbush cranberries make wonderful edible landscape shrubs with attractive woody bark and dark glossy green maple-like leaves that have a slightly crinkled look. They turn brilliant red-gold or purplish-red in autumn.  They prefer good drainage in rich-moist soil and filtered afternoon light.  Although drought tolerant, they’ll likely thrive better with consistently moist soil.  Using 10”-12” high 1/4” drip-line sprayers should keep surrounding soil adequately moist but not soggy.

The American variety — identifiable by convex petiole tops where they meet the leaf blade — is the edible variety. Inedible European varieties have concave petioles with sunken tops. Although challenging, make sure you can confirm which one you’re acquiring if you want edible fruit!

May and June will bring a bounty of two different petite white flowers. There will be an outer, very showy ring of 5 petal florets that is sterile, but within them will be similarly shaped smaller 1/4” clusters of fertile florets. The plants are pollinated by wind and insects. Fruiting starts at about 5 years.  After flowering, fruits form in green clusters turning to ruby-red by late August or September. They taste best when harvested after a frost, as it makes them sweeter, more intensely flavored, and easier to pick than their ground-hugging counterparts.

Plant some highbush cranberries and you’ll not only get your own fruit but rave reviews for the best-tasting traditional cranberry sauce ever.

Resources:

The University of Maine

https://extension.umaine.edu/cranberries/highbush-cranberry/

Native Plants PNW

https://nativeplantspnw.com/highbush-cranberry-viburnum-edule/

Edible Wild Food

https://www.ediblewildfood.com/highbush-cranberry.aspx

Plant Sources:

**Some sources sell this bush under its old name Viburnum trilobum instead of Viburnum opulus. Make sure you’re getting the fruiting highbush kind.**

One Green World

http://www.onegreenworld.com

They have American highbush and Kalinka (Ukranian sweeter variety)

Raintree Nursery

http://www.raintreenursery.com

They have Kalinka and Ukraine

 

Highbush Cranberry Sauce Recipe:

3 cups highbush cranberries, stems removed and put through food mill or food              processor then a sieve to remove seeds and stems

1 quince, (or organic apple) washed and diced

5 Medjool dates, finely chopped

¾ to 1 cup organic coconut sugar or honey

zest and juice from one organic orange and one lemon

1/2 cup each port wine and organic apple juice (or all juice if preferred)

2 tablespoons fresh minced ginger root

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon ground allspice

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Pour cranberry pulp in medium-large heavy pot along with quince or apple and all other ingredients. Bring mixture to a boil while stirring. Turn heat down to medium-low, for a bubbling simmer. Cook covered (with pot lid ajar) for about 20–40 minutes until mixture is thick like jam. If still thin, cook another 5-10 minutes until thick.

Let mixture cool then pour into sterilized jars or storage container(s). Keeps refrigerated for about 2 weeks or can be frozen. Use warm or cold.