Back in October of 2006, I had the pleasure of visiting a cranberry bog in New England. Flax Pond Cranberry Farm in Carver, Massachusetts was the epitome of New England fall. The scene was both picturesque and breathtaking. The trees surrounding the farm were painted in deep, rich colors of evergreen, amber and burnt sienna. Crisp, scarlet cranberries, numbering in the millions, decorated the bog like tiny beaded ornaments. The colors were so intense and dazzling that I felt as if I were in a bucolic oil painting from centuries gone by.
As I studied the brilliance of the autumn backsplash, our tour guide Jack arrived, greeting us with a warm New England welcome. Jack owns and operates the Flax Pond Cranberry Farm along with his family. He also knows his stuff when it comes to the little crimson balls sprouting from the earth beneath us. He gave all of us an education on the world of cranberries as we explored the bog, admiring all the hard work involved in producing a successful cranberry harvest.
 |
| Stunning colors of Autumn in New England |
 |
| Beautiful Cranberries at Flax Pond |
Allow me to share the wealth of information Jack provided to our group.
Did you know?
- There are two types of cranberry bogs: water bogs and dry bogs.
- Cranberries found in water bogs are used strictly for juice.
- Cranberries found in dry bogs are bagged and used strictly as fresh cranberries.
- The cranberries nursed in water bogs are very delicate. If there is any chance at all of a frost, the bogs must be drained immediately or else the farmers run the risk of ruining the crop.
- Bogs date back to the ice age. The were formed by glacial deposits.
- The cranberry growing season lasts from April through November.
- Massachusetts produces 31% of the nation's cranberries.
- Chances are, if you have ever drank Ocean Spray Cranberry juice or purchased a bag of Ocean Spray cranberries, it came from Flax Pond Farms.
- The cranberry is a Native American wetland fruit.
In fact, their love from cranberries was so infectious that I became a huge fan of cranberries after this visit. Honestly, I had never particularly fancied cranberries, except to make my traditional cranberry and evergreen floating candle centerpiece around the holidays. I found them to be beautiful but way too tart for my taste. The aromatic cranberry scented candle I bought from their farm store further instilled in me a lust to give cranberries another chance to be a part of my life.
Now, I can't have a turkey dinner without cranberry sauce. I have even ventured into making homemade cranberry sauce because I enjoy the flavor so much. I am the only one who eats it, but hey, more for me. I discovered that I love mixing cranberry juice and orange juice together. The flavor combination of those two fruits is so heavenly that cranberry orange bread and cranberry orange shortbread cookies have become must haves during autumn in my house.
And don't even get me started on Trader Joe's Cranberry Orange scones. They are so addicting and so deliciously perfect that I am willing to drive 4 hours round trip to State College just to buy a few bags of them.
 |
| These Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies are the best! |
 |
| Cookies all wrapped up for the Cookie Exchange |
Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies Recipe
To this day, when I pick up my bags of cranberries around the holidays, I wonder if the Ocean Spray cranberries I am purchasing came from Flax Pond Cranberry Farm. I hope so because Jack and Dorothy are hard working, good people that strive to produce quality product for Ocean Spray. It was a pleasure visiting their farm and if I am ever on Jeopardy and there is a "Cranberries" category, I will totally own that bitch!
Chrissy
