READING 2 Cranberry Sauce

CranberrySAUCE

Read the following article. Pay special attention to the words in bold. 5.3

Cranberries are a very American fruit. They grow in the cooler regions of northeastern North America and are ready for harvest1 in the fall. We see cranberry juice all year, but packages of fresh cranberries appear in supermarkets just before Thanksgiving.

American Indians introduced cranberries to the Pilgrims in 1621. The Indians used cranberries as a food and for different kinds of medicines. They also made tea from cranberries and used it to add color to their jewelry.

Cranberries are very sour, so a recipe for cranberry sauce uses a lot of sugar or honey. You prepare cranberry sauce by boiling water with sugar and then adding the cranberries. You continue cooking them until the skins pop2 open. Before serving, you cool the mixture in the refrigerator. Some people add pieces of fruit, such as apples or pears, to the cranberries. Some people sprinkle chopped walnuts on top. This is the perfect side dish to go with helpings of turkey.

1 harvest: a time for picking or gathering crops 2 to pop: to break, burst

The Native American Superfood

Cranberries, blueberries, and Concord grapes are the three cultivated fruits that are native to North America. Cranberries in particular have many health benefits. • Cranberries have a lot of fiber and antioxidants. • A glass of cranberry juice may have up to a day’s worth of

Vitamin C. • The fruit doesn’t have much sugar or many calories. (A cup of cranberries has only 1 teaspoon of natural sugar and just 46 calories.) • The berries are good for heart health.