Cranberry

Cranberries are a round red berry with a sour taste, which naturally grows in the marsh area in the northern hemisphere of our Earth. Cranberries belong to the heather family, which is represented by creeping small bushes living in the above-mentioned locality.

All kinds of cranberries can be eaten. They have medicinal properties that have long been known to people who use cranberries for medical purposes. It was used, for example, as a prophylaxis against scurvy and avitaminosis, since cranberries contain just a storehouse of vitamins that help to cope with these problems. It was used for cough and fever, and also applied to ulcers and wounds as an antiseptic.

In addition, red sour berries of this shrub are used in cooking (for example, for jams and jams, fruit drinks and compotes, pie fillings) and in the food industry (for the same purposes).

Morse, juice, infusions of decoctions of cranberries are used in modern alternative medicine to treat a wide range of diseases. With these recipes, as well as a list of ailments in which cranberries are effective, we will introduce the reader a little lower.

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Varieties of cranberries

For an ordinary person, not experienced in botany, all the cranberries are the same - red, round and sour. But, like any other plant, this useful berry has varieties.

Varieties of cranberries differ from each other in the size of berries, shades of color, taste, maturity and yield.

Here are the names of the most common varieties of cranberries:

• Ben Lear or Early Black.

This type of cranberry is one of the fastest-growing, and in this fact is the undoubted advantage of this type of berries. Having planted Ben Lear on his own, the grower will be able to harvest at the end of August. The variety has good yields - about two kilograms per square meter of land.

Externally, the cranberry of this variety looks like a large dark navy berry. The taste is sour with some kind of sneering. It is stored fresh for no more than two weeks.

• Franklin.

This variety of useful berries has a period of medium ripeness. Therefore, to go to the side of the garden for the collection of this cranberry does not make sense until the middle of September. The yield of this sort is about one and a half kilograms of berries per meter of soil.

The color of the berries turns bright red. And can be stored in a cool place fresh for up to four months.

• Stevens.

This grade refers to late-ripening varieties of cranberries. His time is at the end of September - beginning of October. Its merits include the formation of a powerful vegetative system, as well as resistance to disease. The yield of this sort is more than two kilograms per square meter of the plot.

The color of this variety is similar to the previous one, but it is stored without any processing under the proper conditions, practically, for a whole year.

When are cranberries collected?

Lovers of stocking this useful berry perfectly rightly wonder, and when, usually, collect cranberries? We answer the question posed.

Cranberries have three terms in which it must be collected:

• September - from the seventh to the tenth. These berries can be poured with water and get wet cranberries.
• November - with the first frosts. Now the cranberry is frozen in the freezer.
• Early spring - when the amateur berry, uncollected, overwintered under a thick layer of snow.

Some experts believe that an immature cranberry should not be taken, because it is poorly stored and loses its useful properties. Other authorities, on the contrary, advise not to miss and a little green berry: give her the chance to ripen at home and then use it for her intended purpose.

About the frostbitten berries in November there are no differences. Specialists unanimously assert that cranberries retain their qualities in frozen form. The only remark concerns the berries collected in spring - they almost completely lack vitamin C, so the berry has a more sweet taste. And this, of course, affects its useful properties, which are used to improve the body.

Collection of cranberries

Of course, cranberries do not grow in all areas. Her homeland is considered to be Russian, North American and Karelian marshlands. You can also meet cranberries and in places where there is standing water, warm lakes and rivers. Sometimes lucky enough to "get acquainted" with the berry and on the slopes of ravines in the vicinity of the reservoirs prone to waterlogging.

It is not recommended to collect cranberries in the vicinity of roads, various burials and industrial structures. Because the berry tends to accumulate radiation and various toxins released into the air, water and soil.

In some countries, the collection of cranberries is fixed at the legislative level. In this case, it is possible to "hunt" for a berry only in a specific period with the aim of maintaining a balance in the ecosystem.

Correctly collect cranberries is as follows. It is necessary to tear only the berry, and leave the remaining parts of the plant intact. Collection of cranberries is carried out by hands, and the berry itself is placed in a bag, basket or backpack. In this case, you need to carefully monitor, so as not to damage the twigs and leaves of the plant. You also need to look carefully at your feet, so as not to step on the bush and not destroy the plant. Feeling the terrain with a stick is also not a good way to solve the collection problem. After all, this way you can accidentally get into the bush to harm him.

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How is cranberries useful?

When autumn comes on the shelves of shops and trays market sellers scattered in the northern cranberry berry. Many people pass by this product due to the fact that not everyone has an idea of what is useful for cranberries.

Cranberry has a truly unique qualities of a natural antiseptic and an antimicrobial. It fights many infections, helps strengthen the body's defenses. In addition, cranberries have powerful antioxidant properties, which helps to remove toxins and excess substances from the body.

Cranberry tones and strengthens blood vessels, and along with it helps improve mental and physical performance. Drinking berries in food contributes to increased resistance to stress, and improves memory and mood.

Cranberry helps regulate metabolic processes in the body, which allows to normalize a number of health problems. Problems of the digestive tract associated with low acidity, cranberry "decides" is fairly simple. The liver and gallbladder, kidneys and bladder will also be "grateful" to this berry for its undoubted contribution to the establishment of their normal functioning.

Cranberries are a storehouse of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients, so it can be safely called a "mini pharmacy" on your table.

Harm of cranberries

Any product can be a medicine, or it can be a poison. It's all about the individual characteristics of the human body, as well as the doses of a useful product.

In the presence of contraindications, which were described above, cranberries can not be eaten by patients with certain diseases.

Also, cranberries should not be eaten in large quantities: neglecting this rule can lead to an imbalance in the human body.

Dentists have discovered the harm of cranberries, applied to the teeth. The fact is that the cranberry contains a lot of acids that can destroy tooth enamel. Therefore, after the cranberries were eaten, the mouth must be rinsed with warm water. Fresh juice or fruit juice from cranberries it is better to drink through a tube to minimize damage to the berry for the teeth. And then also rinse thoroughly with water.

It is not necessary to eat cranberries and on an empty stomach, especially to drink juices and fruit drinks from it. Even a healthy person can feel the aggressiveness of acids, which have an effect on the walls of the gastrointestinal tract.

In the rest, cranberries are a useful and curative berries, therefore, it can be enjoyed and treated for pleasure by many people.

Contraindications to the use of cranberries

Contraindications to the use of cranberries for food (or for medicinal purposes) are not so extensive as a list of its useful qualities and medicinal properties.

And while patients with various hepatic diseases, gastritis with high acidity, ulcerous and erosive diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, it is necessary to exclude cranberries from the diet or not to enter it at all in the menu.

Also, the cranberry is contraindicated in case of individual intolerance of one or several components of the fetus. For example, with allergic reactions that occur when the berries are ingested.

Do not abuse the eating of berries, but it is better to introduce it into the diet in small doses to patients complaining of gout, urolithiasis and the presence of urate stones in the kidneys.

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Cranberry for gout

Gout is a disease in which the purine metabolism in the patient's body is disrupted. Its mechanism is characterized by the accumulation of urate crystals in various tissues. These crystals are deposited in the form of sodium monoaurate, and in the form of uric acid. The nature of the disease is characterized by impaired renal function, in which uric acid can not be excreted from the kidneys in the proper volume and accumulates in them. After that, this acid increases its concentration in the blood and spreads through various organs and systems. Most of all from the deposition of urate kidneys and joints, whose normal functioning begins to be disturbed, suffer.

This heterogeneous disorder manifests itself in the form of symptoms of recurrent acute arthritis, as well as in the appearance of gouty nodes called tofus. The most common gout is seen in males. Although recently the number of gout diseases among women is skyrocketing. Also, it should be noted that gout is an age-related disease: the older a person is, the more chances he has to get sick with gout.

Cranberries with gout fall into the section of products that need to be excluded from the patient's diet. Because it contains a large number of purines that provoke the appearance of gout. Those wishing to receive more information are recommended to familiarize themselves with Pevsner's diet No. 5.

Dried cranberries

Dried cranberries change their taste from sour to sweet and acquires a strong and pleasant aroma. This product is made from fresh fruits of large size and possessing excellent juiciness. Processing of berries involves squeezing juice from cranberries, which is enriched with sugar syrup. After that, this concentrate is introduced back into the berry, and then dried in compliance with the technology. In this case, a certain amount of useful substances, as well as a certain amount of moisture is stored in the product. Which subsequently affects the fact that dried cranberries are juicy enough and more saturated to taste.

Some producers of dried cranberries have the technology of coating berries with a small amount of vegetable oil. This is done to prevent berries.

In dried berries just as in fresh there are strong antioxidants. They affect the body's resistance to various infectious diseases, and also remove toxins and excess of various substances, for example, cholesterol.

Dried cranberries can boast of a rich vitamin composition. Vitamins A, B6, B12, C, E and K are present in it. From the trace elements, the presence of potassium and magnesium, iron and phosphorus, manganese and zinc, calcium and copper has been detected.

Present in the cranberry and a good dose of fiber necessary for the body: about seven and a half grams per one third of the cup.

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Crushed cranberry

For the winter, mistresses like to prepare cranberries, wiped with sugar. This homemade harvest is very useful in winter as a general strengthening agent that increases immunity. And also as an anti-inflammatory and antipyretic natural remedy for viral and colds. In addition, cranberries, as a strong antiseptic, are important in getting rid of many infections to which the human body is exposed. Especially, in the winter.

The cranberry is prepared as follows. One kilogram of fresh berries and one kilogram of sugar is taken. Cranberries are moved, washed and dried. After that, puree is made from it, which is done with a blender, meat grinder or combine. Then cranberry puree is covered with sugar, mixed and left for several hours until the sugar is completely dissolved. At the very end, the cranberries should be spread over sterilized jars, covered with lids and stored in a refrigerator.

Dried cranberries

Dried cranberries are a product that has been processed in a certain way. For these purposes, fresh cranberries are filled with sugar syrup and cook until the berries become sticky. Then the cranberry is transferred to parchment, on which it is distributed in a uniform way. After that, the berries are transferred to the oven, where they are dried for three hours. At the end of this period, the parchment needs to be changed, and the cranberries are returned to the oven again, where they continue processing for another four to six hours.

For the production of dried cranberries, fresh berries harvested at the end of September are used. Fit berries with glitter, plump and dyed with a special intensity. We must part with the spoiled and soft berries and those that are lost in their color.

Dried cranberries are well suited to storage and do not lose their qualities. In addition, this product has useful properties that are manifested in the treatment of renal, hepatic diseases, as well as pancreatic diseases. Hypertension, Adesson's disease, fever, ascites, diathesis, metabolic disorders and rheumatoid diseases - all this "bouquet" of diseases is successfully treated with the use of dried cranberries in the diet.

Just like fresh cranberries, the dried product has antipyretic, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, antihypertensive, anti-sclerotic and antiscorbutic qualities. Dried cranberries are also able to regulate water-salt metabolism in the body, as well as normalize the activity of the pancreas. In addition, the substances that make up cranberries are seen in the depression of the cholera vibrio.

Dried cranberries can be consumed as an independent product. It is also used as an ornament in various desserts. Fans of tea drinking are happy to add dried cranberries to tea. Some cooks use this product as a substitute for raisins and other candied fruits in baking. In addition, from dried cranberries, you can prepare a mors or compote, kvass or jelly, and even an extract.

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Pickled cranberries

Marinated cranberries are a home-made product that diversifies the winter shortage of vegetables, fruits and berries.

One kilogram of cranberries, half a kilogram of apples or pears, two hundred grams of sugar, six hundred milliliters of water, one hundred and sixty milliliters of vinegar, a little cloves, cinnamon, black pepper, peas, rock salt.

Cranberries are moved and washed. Fruits are washed and cut into four parts, then they fall into boiling water for three minutes (apples) or for five minutes (pears). Then they are removed and cooled: apples should be placed under running water, and pears simply in cold water.

Preparing the marinade. Water is brought to a boil, it dissolves sugar, salt (to taste), spices are added (to taste). After that, vinegar is added to the liquid, and the marinade is placed on the fire and brought to a boil. The berries combine with fruits, mix and unfold over sterilized jars. Everything is filled with a hot marinade, rolled up with metal caps, previously boiled and put in a pot filled with hot water. This capacity is put on the fire, brought to a boil, and the banks are sterilized in this way for fifteen minutes.

What does the cranberry dream about?

Women are great lovers to look into the future. There are many ways that are passed down from generation to generation, one of them is the interpretation of dreams. Of course, it is worth not mentioning the reliability of this means of making forecasts. Maybe someone helped him jump over time, and some do not, we will not judge.

In the dreams there are different strange events, sometimes very realistic, sometimes like a fantastic film. It is not surprising, if a beautiful lady or even a representative of a strong half of humanity will dream of a cranberry berry. Probably, it will happen not by chance, therefore, let's try to figure out what the cranberry is dreaming about?

Let us turn to the dream books. So, the cranberry dreams of good news, which are sure to await a person in the future. Diseases that have tormented a person, should leave it, and the long-awaited recovery comes. Health will be strengthened, and well-being will improve.

If a person eats cranberries in a dream, it means that the person's way of life will become more healthy and full. Or in the future, the owner of a dream is waiting for a wedding with his beloved or beloved. Also, eating cranberries can mean a big holiday, which will be an important event in a person's life.

There is, of course, unpleasant news for fans of reading dream books. If in a dream to collect cranberries from under the snow, it means that any unpleasant troubles or worries are coming. But the one who is warned, he will perfectly cope with the difficulties and find the best solution to problems.

Reviews of the cranberry

Lovers use cranberries as a medicine and dessert, plenty. Therefore, the expanses of the Internet are filled with reviews of those who tried cranberries, for example, as a delicious dessert for tea or pies filling. And compotes, fruit drinks and kissels are traditional winter drinks that help to cope with avitaminosis.

Naturally, one can not ignore those mentions in which the authors share their results in the treatment of certain diseases.

So, reviews about cranberries:

• Anastasia, 31: "I decided to pamper my family, and bake a simple cranberry pie in preparation. I liked the baking very much, I will try to cook other desserts with cranberries. "
• Vladimir, 49 years old: "After the doctors have diagnosed chronic cystitis, I decided to try cranberry juice. I drank two glasses a day of freshly prepared juice. And so - a whole month. Feel better, pain and inflammation stopped. I will continue to be treated further. "
• Karina, 22 years old: "I have very oily skin, with an unpleasant shine. I read that cranberry masks help to cope with such problems. I started using a mask of cranberries three times a week. The result pleased - the skin became drier, the pores narrowed, and the complexion improved. "
• Elena, 28 years old: "I really like cranberry juice, especially with honey. In the winter, I specially stock up on cranberries and prepare her for the whole family. Drink drink husband, I and children, and we practically do not get sick in the winter cold. "
• Stanislav, 53 years old: "I love cooking. I deducted on the Internet a recipe for pork with cranberries and curd casserole. I decided to surprise my wife and children, so I prepared two of these people at once. I received rave reviews and intend to try cooking with cranberries and other dishes. "

To summarize, I would like to say that cranberries are an amazing berry that combines both medicinal and taste qualities. It should be stocked in the autumn-winter period, and to diversify its menu, and be able to cope with various ailments in autumn slush and winter cold.