Cranberries by Caylin Mclain

European Cranberry

caylinmclain — 2024-12-10 00:13:12 UTC

"Swamp Pearls" (Thoreau, 322)

Cranberry Bog

caylinmclain — 2024-12-10 00:13:51 UTC

"Cranberry production is very environmentally friendly. Growing marshes (or bogs) and the surrounding area preserve wetlands and provide excellent habitat for myriad plant and animal life."(Betty Crocker, 94)

About Cranberries

caylinmclain — 2024-12-10 00:33:21 UTC

According to the Betty Crocker Christmas Cookbook, cranberries are a tart, seasonal fruit. They are freshest from September through December, and thus make their way into many holiday dishes. Recipes using them were first popularized in the 18th century.

Recipes

caylinmclain — 2024-12-10 00:35:36 UTC

Some historical cranberry recipes from Betty Crocker include: jerky-like pemmican, "sauces, beverages, desserts and stuffing and in the dried form as a snack and recipe ingredient"(94).

Dating back to the beginnings of cranberry recipes, David Thoreau mentions a desire to make sauce for a Thanksgiving dinner multiple times in his text.

Other uses

caylinmclain — 2024-12-10 00:43:58 UTC

Cranberries can be used to make poultices, dyes, garlands, flower arrangements (Betty Crocker).

Health benefits

caylinmclain — 2024-12-10 00:47:44 UTC

Cranberries have been found to provide a wide array of health benefits. They "are a good source of antioxidants and vitamin C" and "promote urinary tract health." (Crocker) They have also been know to help calm nerves, among many other benefits.

Deeper meanings for Thoreau

caylinmclain — 2024-12-10 01:10:19 UTC

Thoreau goes deeper into the meaning of cranberries, and finds beauty in the process of gathering. Cranberrying is almost a spiritual experience for him. Through this intimate experience with nature, he redefines wealth and finds wisdom and awe in the little things.

Wealth of nature

caylinmclain — 2024-12-10 01:27:17 UTC

Thoreau proposes that he will be "payed... after another fashion"(320) in his cranberrying. The wealth he finds is purpose. By going into the swamp with no expectations, he was able to absorb all that it had to feed him; he was able to "deliberately and faithfully" discover and carry out "the hundred little purposes" of life. He flavored his life and claimed it a better "sauce as no wealth can buy"(321).

Awe and wonder

caylinmclain — 2024-12-10 01:34:53 UTC

"It is by obeying the suggestions of a higher light within you that you escape from yourself and... travel totally new paths."(Thoreau, 321)

"I have no doubt I felt richer wading there with my two pockets full, treading on wonders at every step"(Thoreau, 322).

Effects of nature on the individual

caylinmclain — 2024-12-10 01:42:49 UTC

Not many people have the opportunity to go wade through a cranberry bog as Thoreau did. Though, his experience cranberrying was spiritual for reasons beyond the cranberry itself. Appreciating the beauty of any nature will have similar effects on the psyche.

"Slowly, gradually, the power of soil, flowers, and trees begin to work its healing magic"(Goodall, 139).

"Indeed, putting ones hands in the soil, feeling the texture of plants, smelling their scents, and looking at their calming colors can relax the mind and uplift the spirits"(Goodall, 140).

"The teaching that all wild things continually offer us- is really about ourselves, about human nature"(May, 166).

"Natures teaching is also a healing... we go outdoors and feel that Nature is something different from us"(May, 169).

Resources

caylinmclain — 2024-12-10 01:52:43 UTC

"The Wisdom of Wilderness." Gerald G. May

"Seeds of Hope." Jane Goodall

"Christmas Cookbook." Betty Crocker

"European Cranberries." David Thoreau

Physical Uses and Benefits

caylinmclain — 2024-12-10 03:07:42 UTC

Spiritual Implications

caylinmclain — 2024-12-10 03:09:11 UTC

Connecting Past, Present, and Future

caylinmclain — 2024-12-10 03:11:07 UTC

caylinmclain — 2024-12-10 03:16:39 UTC

caylinmclain — 2024-12-10 03:20:16 UTC