Cranberry
KRAN-ber-ee • berry
How to Tell if Cranberry is Ripe
Store CheckCranberry is a non-climacteric fruit and does NOT ripen after being picked. It will only soften or rot. Buy it ready to eat.
👁 Visual Checks
- Look for uniform color without green under-tones
- Check for matte/dull skin rather than shiny plastic finish
- Look for natural sugar spots or field marks
✋ Tactile & Aroma
- Heft: Should feel heavy for its size (indicates juice content)
- Give: Slight yield under gentle palm pressure, never thumb poking
- Aroma: Fragrant sweet smell at the stem end
How to Store Cranberry
Storage Protocol: Store immediately in the refrigerator crisper drawer. Keep away from high ethylene emitters like bananas and apples.
Peak Seasonality & Harvest Geography
Fresh cranberries are harvested September through November and are a quintessential fall fruit in North America. Dried and juiced cranberries are available year-round.
Common Varieties & PLU Codes
| Variety Name | PLU Codes | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| Stevens | 4240 | Standard commercial supermarket cultivar |
| Early Black | — | Standard commercial supermarket cultivar |
| Howes | — | Standard commercial supermarket cultivar |
| Pilgrim | — | Standard commercial supermarket cultivar |
| Ben Lear | — | Standard commercial supermarket cultivar |
Kitchen Pairings & Chef Hacks
Never buy under-ripe fruit again.
Carry tactile ripeness indicators, PLU barcode decoders, seasonal radar, and ethylene storage charts offline in your pocket.
Download for iOS ↗Compare Head-to-Head
Compare sweetness, sugar content, and glycemic indicators against other fruits.