American cranberries or 'cranberries' should be called the North American rubies. These fantastic little berries have been a delight for thousands of years. A relative of the classic blueberry, the cranberry grows like its brother on low shrubs. And in the same way it can be harvested, by hand or mechanically. Farmers use much cheaper methods. So when autumn comes you can create your own cranberry pools if you harvest them with the wet method, or take a few walks if you use the dry method.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Part One: Collecting the Cranberry
Method One: Dry Harvest
Step 1. Know when to harvest cranberries
The cranberry ripens in the fall. You can tell when the moment begins because the color will vary from green to red. It usually happens in early September and usually ends in mid-November. Dry harvested cranberries are less likely to spoil. The berries are sold fresh at the market and in shops.
Step 2. Choose a day
Dry harvesting is not feasible if the plant is moist. By wet we mean after a frost or even if there is dew. If there is any sign of moisture on the plants, refrain from harvesting.
Step 3. Use a mechanical harvester between the rows
The collector is similar to a push lawn mower in motion. It has movable comb-like teeth that separate the berries from the stem. The berries are then slipped into a container similar to the one that collects cut grass. The berries in the container are then collected and sent to be processed. The only drawback of the mechanical harvester is that the machine can also harvest a few rotten berries. Damaged ones are better for juices and sauces.
If you don't have a lot of shrubs, you can also harvest by hand. As long as it takes some time, it is less expensive. Harvesting by hand is not recommended if you have a rot. Buy a mechanical binder online or at a garden tool store
Method Two: Wet Collection
Step 1. Know that American blueberries grow in so-called 'marches'
The reason there are two methods of harvesting (dry and wet) is because blueberries grow in such soils. What many people don't know is that meadows aren't always wet, so farmers can harvest even when dry. The other option is to flood the land with water. Cranberries float so once the meadows are flooded, the berries will detach from the stems and come to the surface where they will be harvested.
Step 2. Flood the rot
The harvest begins the day before actually when the farmer will pump water into the fields where the blueberries grow. The quantity of water ranges from 15 to 40 cm. The water meadows are impermeable - specially created with layers of various soils - so flooding them is not difficult.
Step 3. Stir the waters
To stir the waters, machines are used affectionately called "whisks". This process separates the blueberries from the shrubs. Since they grow with a small air bubble inside, they float. Any berries that break off come to the surface.
Step 4. Picking the berries
A net is stretched from one end of the rot to the other. Moving all over the field, this net will collect berries. Instead of the net, a machine similar to a ship's boom is sometimes used.
Step 5. Division
Cranberries are sucked into trucks and taken to the plant where they are processed. They then arrive at the consumer already processed, in the form of juice, sauce or other food. Wet picking creates more damage to the berries than dry picking, which is why juices, sauces, and jellies are made with berries harvested this way.
Method 2 of 2: Part Two: Picking Cranberries
Step 1. Choose blueberries according to quality
One of the best ways to do this is to look at the color. Depending on where they grow, the color will vary from a bright, light red to a dark crimson. To the touch, the berries must be firm. These will be destined for sale in the supermarket. They will be used for cooking or for making sweets.
Step 2. Bounce the blueberries
As strange as it sounds, a great way to figure out which ones are great from which to discard is to bounce them. Quality cranberries are firm and springy - so they will gently bounce off the floor. This is due to internal air bubbles. Do not throw them violently of course but simply drop them on a flat surface, to understand if they bounce or not.
Step 3. Keep the ones that bounce and throw the others
You can use fresh ones in a recipe or freeze them for the future. You can also dry some to eat as delicious snacks.
