For keeps
My husband and I are celebrating Thanksgiving with his family tomorrow. So, last night, I stopped by my in-laws' house to see if I could help out with any of the preparations. My mother-in-law pointed me in the direction of the cranberries. All 7,000 bushels of them (or so it seemed). I suppose I'm partly to blame for the excess: Over the years, I've told them a lot about the health benefits associated with cranberries—things like reducing the risk of gum disease, heart disease, and even cancer—thanks to their antioxidant content. So, more cranberries, more health benefits, right? Well, I hate to disappoint my in-laws, but I'm not so sure that's the necessarily the case. But, the good news is, according to some other recent cranberry research I read, if they follow a few specific guidelines, my in-laws will be able to stockpile their benefit-laden berries for quite awhile, and have them at the ready to tackle all those health concerns I mentioned above. Apparently, a recent study conducted at the Atlantic Food and Horticulture Research Centre in Nova Scotia discovered that keeping cranberries from spoiling depends more on humidity than on temperature. The researchers tested cranberries' shelf lives at varying temperatures and humidity levels. They discovered that the ideal combination for storing the berries is a temperature of between 32 and 44 degrees Farenheit and a relative humidity of between 75 and 82 percent. It sounds complicated, but it's actually relatively simple to d The crisper drawer in most refrigerators offers the right temperature range, and keeping a few other vegetables or a dampened cloth in the drawer along with the berries will take care of the humidity requirement. Under these conditions, your cranberries will likely last you at least until Christmas. In the meantime, Happy Thanksgiving! | 
