So many people don’t really have an understanding of where their food comes from and what goes into producing it. While I don’t subscribe to the Instagram craze that’s caused as much harm to places as it has brought appreciation, I’ve wanted some cranberry field photos for years. Plus, I think it’s a fascinating production cycle and harvest. Beautiful little red beans of tartness from short little bog plants.
Last weekend I looked up the website for Hopcott Farms, not because of cranberries, but because I wanted to pick up some chicken backs and necks to make stock with and I know they have an amazing freezer section filled with some things I was after. I also wanted to pick up some other farm fresh things and I haven’t been there for some time.
When I went to their website though….what was this?
Cranberry field tours?
Sold!
So today, on a gloriously sunny and warm Sunday before turkey-day, we drove out to Pitt Meadows and picked up the things I wanted from their store…..and…..played in a cranberry field!
While we waited for our ride to the back acres, we enjoyed a coffee in the sun next to a little patch of end-of-the-season sunflowers and the bees visiting them.
All aboard a fully subscribed hay-bale ride behind a tractor and out to the fields that I didn’t even know existed out this way!
We learned about the history of cranberries in Canada, the history of the industry, and the history of this farm. We learned about the art and science of cranberry production, and how the farms baby them through the seasons, particularly the winters when they will intentionally ice the fields and flowers over to insulate them against the cold. And we learned how they conserve water in a harvest that requires fields to be flooded….and then drained. They recycle the water through the fields through a pump system and move it back and forth into and out of their reservoir.
And then we pulled on waders and had some fun!
As a kid, all I thought of when you said “cranberries” to me was a lump of can shaped jelly that slipped out of a tin can and retained its shape and was crushed into something that could be sort of spooned out of a bowl and served alongside turkey at Thanksgiving and Christmas. It held no interest for me, and…honestly…it was kind of repulsive.
Fast forward 30 or 40 years and I adore cranberries. I make cranberry chutney, cranberry pepper jelly, and a fresh cranberry and orange sauce that is snappy and delicious with meat. I love cranberry juice cut with soda and a slice of lime.
I am thankful that there are still those willing and eager to grow food for the rest of us to enjoy. I admire their endurance in the face of challenging climate changes and a population that doesn’t fully appreciate where their food comes from and the effort that goes into producing it.
Respect the cranberry!
