How is cranberry juice made

A.� Cranberries are harvested in an unusual yet traditional way deep in the heartland of America. It's said that the cranberry harvest is a triumph of ingenuity over nature. Workers - mostly employed by the giant Ocean Spray company in the States - use egg-beaters to shake the berries from the cranberrry bushes which grow in a bog. The machinery shakes up great mounds of berries to the surface. Cranberries grow prolifically on small bushes in sandy areas. To harvest them, farmers first have to flood the land with several feet of water, then the submerged bushes are shaken, releasing the berries to the surface. Workers wade in and gather the berries from a crimson tide.

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Q.� When were they first discovered

A.� Native Americans living around the heartland of cranberry country in Massachusetts were the first to exploit the fruit. They added cranberries to strips of buffalo meat which they dried as winter food. This was known as Pemmican which is still made today, using venison.

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Q.� When did they arrive in the UK

A.�They were first introduced here about 25 years ago. They came to Europe through over-production, but have really latched on in the last 10 years, thanks partly to TV chef Delia Smith. Cranberry juice is drunk as a health kick, there's the uniquitious sauce with the festive turkey, and cranberries are mixed with other British soft fruits such as raspberries and blackcurrants. Cranberries are huge in the US where they mix with most things in sweetened drinks such as peach, grapes and mango.

Cranberries took off in a big way in the 1980s with the launch of the Cosmopolitan cocktail.

To make a Cosmo, you will need:

2oz vodka

1oz Cointreau

1/2 oz lime juice

�Splash cranberry juice

twist of lime

Stir and strain the ingredients into a chilled coktail glass with a sugared rim. Garnish with a twist of lime.

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Q.� Who are the biggest suppliers

A.� Ocean Spray is a powerful US co-operative that controls a $1.4 billion market, and sells 70 per cent of the world's cranberries. The company says its basic test of a good cranberry is whether it bounces or not. Cranberries that don't bounce, don't make it.

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Q.� What health benefits do cranberries have

A.� They have superb detox ability as they're packed with vitamin C and can ease problems with cystitis and inflammation of the bladder. They are quite alkaline in nature and a tipple of cranberry juice each day is said to ward off bladder discomfort.

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Q.� What's the latest cranberry marketing technique

A.� The market looks likely to change with the introduction of the white cranberry. The Ocean Spray company has plans to introduce an immature fruit, harvested young, before too much colour or flavour is developed.

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by Katharine MacColl