In the fall of 2018, Barry and I took a trip along the East coast with my sister, Donna and her husband, Jeff. We planned the entire trip around a cranberry bog tour at Benson’s Pond, in Middleboro, Massachusetts. During the tour, we learned the history of the farm, how cranberries are grown and harvested, and then actually helped harvest the cranberries from one of their bogs. After the harvest, we were treated to an amazing dinner in their barn that has been fixed up wonderfully. If you have any plans of trying this in the future, which I highly recommend, be sure to do your research.
There are a limited number of cranberry bog tours that do the “harvester for the day” and also serve you a dinner alongside the bog. The Cranberry Bog on Benson’s Pond only offered one “Cranberry Bogger and Barn Dinner” for the year. There are a couple of other bogs that offer up dinner, but they didn’t compare to Benson’s Pond. It was kind of a challenge planning an entire trip around one day in the fall, but it was soooooooo worth it. It was one of the highlights of our trip!
How To Harvest Cranberries
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Most cranberries today are harvested with a method called “wet harvesting”. When the cranberries are ready to be harvested the bogs are flooded with 12” to 18” inches of water. Then they run a custom build “swamp buggy” looking machine with paddles along the bushes to loosen the cranberries that then float to the top. The cranberries are corralled together in a cran-barrier.
Our job was to “rake” the cranberries toward a huge vacuum nozzle placed in the water. It sucked the cranberries up to another separating machine where the berries were washed and leaves and other debris removed.
The berries then moved along a conveyor belt to an awaiting truck. The cranberries are then hauled to buyers. One of Benson’s Pond’s buyers is Ocean Spray.
As soon as the cranberries are off the water, they pull the plug and allow the water to drain off the bushes. Now they’re ready for next years harvest.
Cranberry Bog Tour Gourmet Dinner
The dinner was served in their barn that has been fixed up for weddings and events. We were served a four-course dinner consisting of Pumpkin Soup, Cranberry-apple blue cheese salad, Fall Braised Pastured Chicken, Bogside Acres Grass-fed Beef, Parsnip Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Fennel & Apple with Cranberry and Bacon, and Poached Pears with Mascarpone for dessert. Let me tell you, it was delicious!!
After dinner, we finished the evening off with a demonstration of an antique cranberry separator and were given some fresh cranberries to take home. The tour, the dinner, and visiting with our fellow cranberry boggers made for a great afternoon. The day was worth every penny.
How To Enjoy Fresh Cranberries
I’d like to share a couple of the dishes I made with my fresh cranberries. In our family, there are some traditions at Christmas and Thanksgiving that you don’t want to mess with and one is having turkey for dinner. And when there’s turkey, Cranberry Sauce is a must. I’ve been in charge of the Cranberry Sauce for Thanksgiving and Christmas for years. I use whole cranberries in my cranberry sauce recipe. Give it a try
The second recipe is a cranberry-pepper relish. This unique jelly recipe is delicious when served over or mixed with cream cheese and served with a variety of crackers. Not only does it taste delicious but I’ve had raves about its presentation. This appetizer really stands out because it’s unlike anything else.
Conclusion
If you ever get a chance to take a cranberry bog tour in Massachesetts during harvest season, I highly recommend giving it a try. You’ll definitely want to make your plans well in advance and be sure to consider everything included in the tour. The dinner we were served at Benson’s Pond was simply delicious and was a big part of the tour. So don’t hesitate to book your tour, slip into a pair of waders and jump right in. You won’t regret it!
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