Cranberries: Thanksgiving elixir

It is such a sadness that a fruit as wonderful as the cranberry gets mentioned but once a year.  This Ohio native plant really has the goods.  Unfortunately, we have all but wiped them out in Ohio.

Large Cranberry, Vaccinium macrocarpon

 You'll only find them in bogs, like Brown's Lake bog near Shreve, or Cranberry Bog State Nature Preserve, a floating Island in Buckeye Lake. Well, actually it is sinking... but that is an interesting story, too.

Our family Thanksgiving jello recipe calls for ground cranberries.

 I am a big fan of the cranberry and I hope you are too.  They are really high in Vitamin C.  Unfortunately we in Ohio have to buy ones shipped in from Michigan or Maine- two of the bigger producers of this perfect fruit.

No matter how you prepare them, in a jelly or jello, or sauce- you'll want to add plenty of sugar.  These bad boys can really be tart, but that's why they are so perfect! 

Just boil 2 cups of water with 2 cups of sugar and add in 4 cups of whole cranberries.  Boil them for about 5 minutes.  Once they cool you have a delicious topping  for anything from a cracker with brie to sliced turkey.  (I can't believe I just gave out a recipe. It must be the Greg Miller influence!)

So how did they get the name Cranberry?  Could it be from the giant Sandhill Cranes known to inhabit wetlands and bogs?  We may never know.  But it sure makes for a great story.

Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Now pass the cranberry sauce!