Facts about Cranberry Fruit
A shiny, scarlet, tart berry, the cranberry is in a similar genus (known as vaccinium) as the blueberry. Both fruits also are categorized under the food family known as Ericaceae, also referred to as the heather family. Just like blueberries, cranberries grow wild in the northern part of Europe, North America and northern Asia.
Cranberries are also named "bounceberries", due to the fact that ripe ones bounce, in addition to "craneberries", a graceful allusion to the truth that the pale pink flowers resemble the heads of the cranes which frequent cranberry bogs. The type cultivated for commercial purposes in the upper US and southern Canada, identified as the American cranberry, yields a bigger fruit compared to either the Southern type, a wild varieties which is originated from the mountains in the eastern area of the US, or the European type.
Health Benefits of Eating Cranberries
- Cranberries help in healing from stroke.
- Cranberries are a great source of fiber. The roughage in them helps ease constipation, among its many other benefits.
- Scientific studies recommend that undiluted cranberry fruit juice may become an alternative solution to antibiotics. The substances in cranberry juice are able to modify the bad bacteria strains that have grown to be resistant to typical treatment. With this, cranberry juice helps make all these bad bacteria unable to cause infection.
- Cranberry is identified to contain defensive effects against bladder infection. The fruit juice possesses the potential to avoid and in some cases reverse the development of plaque.
- Cranberry juice enhances the result of drugs used to heal ulcer and some digestive problems. Drinking the fruit juice incredibly speeds the elimination of the bacteria causing ulcers and also digestive issues in females obtaining triple treatments using the antibiotics amoxcillin, clarithromycin and omeprazole.
- A small number of preserved cranberries a day will secure you from getting breast cancer. Laboratory research shows that cranberry prevents the progress of cancer cells in breasts. This is made possible by making the cancer cells to kill themselves as well as stopping their capability to multiply.
- The antioxidants found in cranberry enhance the performance of our blood vessels, which in turn lowers the chance of getting heart diseases or even heart attack.
- Cranberry reduces bad cholesterol (LDL) and at the same time increases good cholesterol (HDL) in our body. Experts attribute this feature to the high level of poluphenol content, a kind of powerful antioxidant.
- Scientific studies conclude that the antioxidant substance of cranberries is about 5 times that of broccoli. Furthermore, when compared to 19 other popular fruits, it shows that the berry contains the highest quantity of antioxidant. This is certainly vital in the healing of cancer as well as lowering the level of cholesterol, to certain extent.
- The presence of quinic acid in cranberries blocks the mixture of phosphate and calcium ions to become insoluble stones. Therefore, they can also be useful against the development of kidney stones.
- Cranberries manage to prevent and heal urinary tract infections. The fruit juice features an antibacterial property and some other substances, which jointly reduce the survival rate of e. coli bacteria on the walls of urinary tract.
Buying Tips of Cranberries
- A berry with a pretty short season, cranberries are cropped in between early may and end of October and are available in markets from the month of October until December.
- Pick fresh, plump cranberries, dark red in color, with fairly firm to the touch.
- Firmness is generally a most important sign of quality. Actually, during harvesting, prime quality cranberries will often be sorted from lower grade berries by bouncing them against barriers created from slanted boards. Best quality berries are able to bounce higher than the barriers, while the substandard ones accumulate in the separate reject pile.
- The deeper red the fruits' color, the higher concentration are cranberries' useful anthocyanin substances. The Early Black cultivar of cranberry -- featuring its special deep red color -- was found in a research study to contain the highest level of anthocyanins.
- Though normally pre-packed in 12-ounce plastic packing, fresh cranberries, particularly if organic, are sold in pint containers.
Storing Tips of Cranberries
- Fresh ripe cranberries definitely can be kept in the home fridge for as long as 20 days. Prior to storing, throw away any fluffy, discolored, pitted as well as shriveled berries. When taken out from the refrigerator, cranberries could look damp. However such moistness surely does not indicate spoilage, except if the fruits are discolored or look sticky, leathery or even tough.
- When frozen, cranberries can be kept for a few years. To freeze them, spread cranberries on an ordinary cookie sheet and then store in the freezer. Within a few hours, the thoroughly frozen fruits are ready to move into a freezer bag. Remember to write the date on the bag prior to putting back to the freezer.
- When thawed, frozen berries are basically pretty soft and ought to be used instantly.
- Dried cranberries are usually available in some supermarkets and can be found together with some other dried fruits.
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