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ByAnnM.Evansand Georgeanne Brennan SpecialtoTheWoodlandDaily Democrat Cranberry sauce, made from fresh cranberries, is a staple of my holiday ta- ble. The recipe is right on the package: 1 pound fresh cranberries, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water — and then I add a little lemon juice and a lemon zest. Twenty min- utes later, the sauce is ready to be spooned into the spe- cial cut glass bowl I use ev- ery year. Sometimes I make cranberry nut bread with the recipe printed on the package of fresh cranber- ries. Past that, I haven't ever given fresh cranberries much more thought. However, a recent trip to Wisconsin to see the cran- berry harvest first hand was a revelation, not only because of what I learned about the farming of cran- berries and their agricul- tural history, but also what I discovered about the di- versity of cooking with fresh cranberries. First of all, I was told by proud Wisconsin farmers, that their state accounts for more than 60 percent of the cranberries grown in the United States, more than Massachusetts and that in Wisconsin we do not say bogs, but marshes. Bog is the term used in Massa- chusetts. The cranberry is native to the region, and has been cultivated since the 1800s. According to the story, the first cran- berry plantings were made when a settler dug up some cranberry-laden sod and planted it on his property. Today there are more than 180,000 acres of cranberry marshes in the state, but interestingly enough, of those, only 21,000 acres are planted in cranberries. The rest of the acreage, called support land, is nat- ural and man-made wet- lands, woodlands, and up- lands, with a network of ditches, dikes, dame, and reservoirs to provide the water supply necessary for cranberry production. Driving along what is called "The Cranberry Highway," I could see large patches of crimson red — my first glimpse of the fruit — but once off the highway, heading deep into the pro- duction area I was stunned by the sight of acres of red berries bobbing on top of the water. It was explained to me that the berries do not grow in water, as I had previously thought, but in low-lying beds. The plants themselves are low-grow- ing, perennial vines. At harvest time in the fall, the beds are flooded with 1 to 2 feet of water. Then the ripe berries are raked free of the plants by tractors passing over them with loose-tine harrows, suspended from toolbars, front and back, dragging over the plants. The berries float to the top where they are captured by booms, and uploaded to the waiting trucks. Men and women in hip-high waders were in the water, guiding the berries into the chutes for uploading. I was offered the opportunity to don a pair of waders and have a go, but I declined. During my trip, I ate fresh cranberries every day, prepared in a number of dif- ferent ways, from cranberry glazed duck breast to cran- berry ice cream and crou- tons, but my two favorites were Apple Cranberry Com- pote which was served on top of oven-roasted salmon, and a Fresh Cranberry and Walnut Tart that tasted like the sour cherry pies of my childhood. After the trip and all I experienced, I have a dif- ferent view of fresh cran- berries, their history and what goes into their pro- duction. I've got another month to cook with them, which I plan to do. I'm also going to buy several bags to freeze. They can be treated as fresh, as long as they are going to be cooked, as it the compote or tart below. FreshCranberryand Walnut Tart Crust 11/2cupsflour 2tablespoons sugar 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt 1/2 cup cold butter 1large egg yolk 11/2 tablespoons ice water Filling 3large eggs 2/3 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup corn syrup 1/4 cup unsalted butter 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt 1teaspoon vanilla 1cup coarsely chopped walnuts 11/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cranberries To prepare the crust. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, blend the cold butter into the flour mixture until it is the texture of coarse meal. Mix in the egg yolk, and ice water. Mix with your hands until smooth. Form into a ball and chill one hour. Preheat an oven to 425 degrees. Roll the dough out into a round 1/8 inch thick and about 12inches in diam- eter, or large enough to fit into a 11-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Chill 30 minutes. Line with foil and add pie weights. Bake for 15minutes then remove pie weights and let cool. To prepare filling In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, salt and vanilla. Stir in the walnuts and cranberries. Pour the mixture into the cooled pastry shell, and cover with foil. Bake 40minutes, then remove the foil and bake another 10minutes. Serves 8to 10 Recipe courtesy of Elm Lake Cranberries, Wisconsin Apple Cranberry Compote 3apples, peeled, cored, and diced small 4ounces fresh cranberries 1cup dry white wine 4tablespoons maple syrup 1/2 cup water 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt Combine all the ingredients in a sauce pan. Over medium high heat, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Continue to cook, stir- ring occasionally, until the cranberry has gelled and the apples are tender, about 45 minutes. Serve over salmon or to accompany pork, chicken, or beef. Serves 6 Recipe courtesy L'Ecole de la Maison, Osthoff Resort, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin Georgeanne Brennan, who made the cranberry trip, lives in Winters, where she writes and oversees her new entrepreneur- ial adventure, La Vie Rus- tic — an online store with kitchen and garden prod- ucts in the French style. www.lavierustic.com Ann M. Evans writes and draws in Davis, and watches over her beehives, chickens and garden. www.annmevans. com. Together they have a food and agricultural con- sultancy, Evans & Bren- nan, LLC. Follow their blog, Who's Cooking School Lunch? (www.whoscooking- schoolunch.com) Or reach them at info@evansand- brennan.com. FROM THE GROUND UP There's more to fresh cranberries than sauce and bread COURTESY Cranberries are harvested in Wisconsin. The delectable fruit is good anytime of the year, but more popular around Thanksgiving and Christmas. COURTESY Cranberries are harvested in Wisconsin. The delectable fruit is good anytime of the year, but more popular around Thanksgiving and Christmas. By UC Davis News Service Researchers at UC Da- vis and other institutions have found that diets rich in whole walnuts or walnut oil slowed prostate cancer growth in mice. In addition, both walnuts and walnut oil reduced cholesterol and in- creased insulin sensitivity. The walnut diet also re- duced levels of the hormone IGF-1, which had been pre- viously implicated in both prostate and breast cancer. The study was published online in the Journal of Me- dicinal Food. "For years, the United States government has been on a crusade against fat, and I think it's been to our detriment," said lead scientist and research nu- tritionist Paul Davis. "Wal- nuts are a perfect example. While they are high in fat, their fat does not drive prostate cancer growth. In fact, walnuts do just the opposite when fed to mice." Davis and colleagues have been investigating the impact of walnuts on health for some time. A previous study found that walnuts reduced prostate tumor size in mice; how- ever, there were questions about which parts of the nuts generated these ben- efits. Was it the meat, the oil or the omega-3 fatty ac- ids? If it was the omega-3 fats, the benefit might not be unique to walnuts. UC DAVIS Study: Eating walnuts slows prostate cancer growth 7thAnnual CRAB FEED JANUARY10, 2015 Presented By THE AUXILIARY VOLUNTEERS OF ST. 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