Dried Cranberry

Dried Cranberry

Dried cranberries are made by partially dehydrating fresh cranberries, a process similar to making grapes into raisins. They are popular in trail mix, salads, and breads, with cereals or eaten on their own. Dried cranberries are sometimes referred to as "craisins," though the word "craisin" is a registered trademark of Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. and cannot be officially applied to dried cranberries from other manufacturers.

Most commercially produced dried cranberries contain added sugar, to balance the fruit's extreme tartness. They may also be coated in very small quantities of vegetable oil to keep them from sticking together. Natural food stores tend not to use this addition and, additionally, often choose not to coat them with sulfur as a preservative.

Many home recipes for dried cranberries involve allowing the cranberries to sit overnight in a water and sugar solution, prior to freeze-drying or air-drying. This can deprive the cranberries of some natural nutrients that would be contained in fresh cranberries.

As with all fruit, drying cranberries drastically increases the number of calories per unit of weight (e.g., ounces or grams) or volume (e.g., cup). This is because removing the water reduces the fruit's size and weight. By reducing water content, the dried cranberries are less filling and people tend to eat more.