The holidays are over, but I still wanted some local cranberries. Every time I am in the produce section at the grocery store, I look at the box in hopes to see Oregon cranberries. Instead I walk away disgusted that a grocery store in Eugene buys cranberries from Wisconsin. What the heck?
We did manage to pick up a pound of local cranberries through Eugene Local Foods right before Thanksgiving, but I didn’t feel like I got my cranberry fix for the year. After reading the Culinaria Eugenius post about most Oregon cranberries being shipped away, I did not have high hopes on our trip to Bandon.
We paid a visit to Misty Meadows, an Oregon coast producer and retailer specializing in cranberry jams. While completing our purchase of cranberry jam, gooseberry jam, tayberry jam, and some local frozen huckleberries , I asked whether they sold frozen cranberries. They suggested that we look in Coffee Break, a weekly publication of classified ads published by the local newspaper, Bandon Western World. Sure enough there was an ad for organic cranberries from Brush Prairie Farm. I was giddy and could hardly wait for them to call me back. Eventually, we arranged a rendezvous and we are coming home with 10 lbs of organic cranberries. I will probably make cranberry ketchup and cranberry salsa. If you have other ideas, please put them in the comments.
I am encouraged to find a farm that is willing to sell smaller quantities directly. We are hoping that some of their cranberries can find their way to Eugene next year.
They still have a small quantity available this year. If you plan to be around Bandon in the next couple of weeks and are in need of a cranberry fix, contact Brush Prairie to see if they have any available. If you are interested in how cranberries are grown, harvested, and packaged, they also have a beautiful set of slides on their website that chronicle the process.
Read about other local food and food related sources here.
