East Freetown, Massachusetts, is a place of exquisite northeastern-style beauty. When I got there, bright red cranberry bogs dotted the whole of the picturesque landscape. Seeing that gorgeous vista, I was inspired to use cranberries to prepare an autumn extravaganza because, for me, nothing says fall like fresh cranberries.
When I arrived, I was met by Stefan Ashley, alias Cranberry Santa—a bushy-white-bearded, third-generation cranberry farmer who, along with his daughter-in-law, two grandkids, and son, runs the family cranberry farm. This kind of place is getting rarer all the time—a real family farm business, passed down from generation to generation.
Stefan says the first cranberry always bites back. When raw, a cranberry crunches like an apple and sends shivers of tart delight bursting into your mouth. Picking cranberries is backbreaking work, but the results are delicious berries with more flavour than any other you can eat. Their tartness combines wonderfully with rich, fatty foods like duck and pork, cutting the heaviness of the meat with their intense fruitiness.
Even if you can’t get them from Cran-San himself, fresh cranberries are a versatile and delicious way to bring berries to the fall table.