something to chew on

As one of the few fruits native to North America, Cranberries have been grown commercially there for almost 200 years. Today over 1,000 Cranberry growers produce over 450,000 metric tonnes of fruit per year.

The Natural Grocer sources only the finest Cranberries nature has to offer from the Patagonia region of Southern Chile. This is the home of the world’s largest Cranberry grower – so they know what they are doing!

Cranberries grow on low lying vines in specially prepared plots of land. These plots are known as bogs or marshes as they are ‘dug out’ and flooded with water. Cranberries can be harvested in two ways – Wet or Dry.

As Cranberries have pockets of air inside, the fruit floats to the top of the water. Using the ‘Wet” method, special ‘reels’ are used to stir up the water, helping the fruit to come off the vine and float to the surface.

Wet harvested Cranberries are used for juices and snacks as dried fruit. 90% of all Cranberries are harvested using the Wet method.

Did you know the uses of Cranberries are extensive — American whalers and mariners carried Cranberries onboard to prevent scurvy, Native Americans brewed Cranberry poultices to draw poison from arrow wounds and made Cranberry tea to calm nerves. They even used the juice as a dye.

Enjoy our Cranberries in cooking and baking, sprinkled over your favourite breakfast cereal or a simple handful as a delicious snack.

The Natural Grocer offers dried sweetened Cranberries in a number of pack sizes. We also produce our own recipe Cranberry Deluxe and Cranberry Trail mixes in various pack sizes.