THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Cranberry

Lisa Karen Miller

          American homemakers in the fall of 1944 faced a dilemma: What could they serve instead of cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving?  There was a severe shortage of the bog fruit that year.

          For once, it wasn’t the fault of World War II.

          Poor weather meant the harvest of Vaccinium macrocarpon was about half what it had been the previous year. 

          Used to shortages during the war years, some housewives had resorted to black market suppliers to put food on the table for their families. The War Food Administration had warned people that, in spite of the shortage, fresh cranberries had a “ceiling price,” and they should pay no more than 41 cents a pound for them.

          Still, there simply weren’t going to be enough to go around.  Enter “Homemakers’ Chat,” a U.S. Department of Agriculture radio broadcast that gave weary housewives tips to make their domestic chores easier, quicker, or even more fun.

          The November 10, 1944 broadcast offered some substitutions for cranberries they might want to consider, including spicy pickled peaches, yellow tomato preserves, watermelon pickle, crabapple jelly, apple sauce, and a citrus fruit cocktail.

          The cranberry is native to bogs, swamps, and coastal areas of northeastern and northwestern states. European settlers in New England named it cranberry because its flower resembles the head of a crane.

          The fruit has been used medicinally by Native Americans to treat wounds and scurvy, a disease caused by a deficiency of vitamin C. Its use has become mainstream in recent years for preventing urinary tract infections and kidney stones.  It is also effective against the bacteria that cause gum disease.

          Cranberries replenish “retina purple” in the eyes, helping to reduce visual fatigue. A leaf decoction lowers blood sugar, while a leaf tea makes a gargle for sore throats. Cranberry juice and tonic water with a slice of lime is a refreshing cooler on a hot day.

          If using it medicinally, be sure to get 100% juice, not a cocktail, which contains very little cranberry and a great deal of sugar.  You can make your own juice with fresh cranberries, water, and a blender. Strain out the pulp and sweeten to taste. You can then cook the pulp with a little orange juice and nutmeg for a new twist on cranberry sauce.

          It really doesn’t have to be shaped like a can.

          The National Agricultural Library has digitized over 5,000 scripts of the USDA’s “Homemakers’ Chat” broadcast.  They provide a vivid picture of domestic life between 1926 and 1946, and are available at the Internet Archive (archive.org).

© Copyright 2023 Lisa Karen Miller