Over the river and through the woods . . .by Lydia Maria Child

Over the river and through the woods, to grandmother’s house we go;
The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh, through white and drifted snow…

It’s that time of year again, preparing a bountiful Thanksgiving meal to enjoy with family and loved ones (except that kind of gathering is difficult during COVID-19.)

Combining cranberries with turkey is one of our oldest American traditions. Each year, we eat 400 million pounds of cranberries with twenty percent served during Thanksgiving week. Native to North America, they thrive in our Northeast and Pacific Northwest, but sixty percent are grown and harvested in Wisconsin and are that state’s official fruit.

On a happy glorious autumn day in a kinder year, a spontaneous short cut led me through Wisconsin’s cranberry country. Better yet, harvest was in full swing when bogs are flooded to release cranberries from their vines to float to the surface. Wet harvesting is faster and more efficient than dry harvesting). I joined a paid farm tour and loved it. (If you ever get the chance, do the same.) Their gift shop offered endless cranberry motif products plus delicious value-added cranberry foods.

These days, colorful, tangy, cranberries are in many more forms than colonial cranberry sauce or jelly. Combining them with turkey might be inspired by Native-American high-energy pemmican where large quantities of dried berries and meats were pounded together with fat for preservation. Today additional cranberry recipes stretch from sorbets to Jell-O salads, to juices and other beverages, to spicy salsas, mustards, wonderful scones, granola bars, breads, bars, and endless desserts.

Our tart red North American berry has come a long ways since it was first teamed with turkey for holiday meals. In myriad imaginative forms, it is now essential to Thanksgiving celebrations in its own right.

Plus–Fun Wild Turkey Facts: Did you know that wild turkeys–

• can fly short distances at 40-50 miles per hour
• run 12 miles per hour
• AND swim!

Tell us your favorite thing this Thanksgiving despite 2020’s hardships

AND have a VERY Happy Thanksgiving!