Cranberries Bounce Back

For the first time in three years, it looks as if there will be enough cranberries to go around--at least through Thanksgiving.

Two years ago, a short crop cut supplies so drastically that fresh cranberries were difficult to find for the holidays. Last year, despite a record crop, warm weather after the harvest broke down the berry skins so that most were set aside for processing. This year, the crop, which at this point has been almost completely harvested, is of normal size.

The majority of cranberries are still harvested the old-fashioned way--low-lying bogs are flooded, the bushes are raked and the loose berries float to the top. They are then sorted using the “bounce test.” Cranberries are dry and hard enough that they should bounce, so each berry is run over a “bounce board,” with the soft ones that don’t bounce ending up in the reject bin.

When a food is connected with a holiday, in most cases it’s because the harvest coincides with that holiday. Watermelon is at its peak for the Fourth of July; corn is abundant at Labor Day. With cranberries, the situation is somewhat different. While the peak season for fresh cranberry consumption is Thanksgiving through Christmas, the berries are harvested in October and stored until the holidays.

After two years of short supplies, retailers want to make sure they get enough cranberries this season, so advance orders are running high. So high, in fact, that the Ocean Spray Growers Cooperative--which handles roughly 90% of the fresh cranberry harvest--is advising stores that there may not be enough cranberries to last through Christmas.

* It appears the California citrus business has finally recovered from the freeze of 1990. This year’s crop of navel oranges is larger than normal, and last week navels started selling at wholesale prices 30% to 50% lower than last year.

* This fall’s artichoke harvest, on the other hand, has been something of a washout. Artichokes do best in the cool and damp, and this summer’s weather was just too nice. Look for a big spring, though. The fall crop makes up only about 20% of the total harvest, compared to spring’s 50%. And a light harvest is usually followed by a heavy one.

* The Florida grapefruit harvest is hitting its full stride. Prices on both red and white grapefruit should be reasonable.