Christmas Articles - A Friend That's Always Around For The Holidays

**As one of the more well-known fruits around Christmas time**, the cranberry can be found in almost anything. Cakes, sauces, tarts and even ginger ale become festive once winter has arrived and cranberries are in season. ---photo0--- Cranberries themselves are low, creeping shrubs with slender stems and small evergreen leaves. The flowers on the shrubs are dark pink and are very distinct. The fruit is a berry that is originally white but then turns a deep red when ripe. Most cranberries are found in acidic bogs throughout the cooler part of the Northern Hemisphere. As a major commercial crop in certain U.S. states and Canadian provinces, cranberries are processed into products such as juice, sauce and sweetened dried cranberries while the rest are sold to consumers. When it comes to nutrition, the fruit is full of vitamin c and is a good source of fiber. So instead of trying “fiber bars” full of bran and dry goodness, give cranberries a chance. Despite being very tart on their own, cranberries are an excellent choice for when flavoring a sauce, adding to stuffing, or being baked in cakes and breads. They’ll also keep up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator; just make sure you rinse them in cold water before using. ---photo1--- If you’re trying to figure out how you can tell the best cranberries from the worst at the grocery store, look at colour. A brown or deep red colour signals freshness. A good, edible berry should also be shiny, not shriveled and should be hard. When people think about berries, they often overlook the cranberry. But once Christmas carols have arrived and the snows here, people then remember what they’ve been missing out on all year. Instead of buying cranberry products from the grocery store, try these delicious homemade recipes. **Apricot-Ginger Cranberry Sauce** *http://www.recipeland.com/recipe/660/* **Cranberry-Orange Biscotti** *http://www.recipeland.com/recipe/40703/* **Spicy Cranberry Pork Chops** *http://www.recipeland.com/recipe/22097/*