Did they really serve cranberry sauce at the original
Thanksgiving dinner? We don’t know for sure. We do know that cranberries were
around, that the Native Americans used them (especially pounded together with
meat and dried to make pemmican) and that Native Americans provided many of the
feast ingredients, including wild game, which are traditionally said to “go
with” cranberries.
Cranberries were first gathered by Native Americans of the
Northeast from naturally occurring bogs that were flooded in the winter,
protecting the plants from frost damage. Today the Indian methods have been
mechanized, and the cranberry is an important agricultural product in many
Eastern States.

Cranberry sauce is an important traditional component of our
Thanksgiving dinners, although I have noticed that hardly anyone ever really
eats it. The cranberry sauce sits in isolated splendor in its small cut glass
bowl, complete with silver spoon, and sometimes goes back into the refrigerator
in its original virginal condition. What to do with all the leftover cranberries
that are produced for the Thanksgiving table? That is the story of one of the
biggest boondogles ever perpetuated upon the American public. Cranberry
producers have spent a small mint in marketing to convince us all that cranberry
juice is yummy, although the only way they seem to be able to sell the stuff is
to combine it with fruits that really do taste good, like apples or
raspberries.
OK, maybe I am being too hard on the poor cranberry. One of the most
beneficial results of heavy cranberry marketing is the “craisin” - a dried
cranberry that is unbelievably good as a substitute for chocolate chips in
chocolate chip cookies. Really! I wouldn’t lie to you! Try it and see. Also,
medically speaking, cranberry juice works really well to acidify the urine and
prevent recurrent bladder infections in those who are prone to them.

