Some Helpful Cranberry Tips

Ocean Spray, which supplies about 80 percent of the 400 million pounds of cranberries consumed by Americans each year, offers these tips:

Store fresh cranberries in original package for up to one month in the refrigerator. Check them occasionally; discard berries past their prime.

Do not discard any white or pink berries. They will ripen and turn red when stored at room temperature.

Cranberries freeze well with little preparation. Double-wrap them in plastic wrap and pop them into the freezer. They will hold their quality for nine months.

Frozen cranberries can be substituted for fresh in any recipe.

When mixing fresh cranberries into other ingredients add the cranberries last to prevent them from turning the batter red.

For a great topping for fruit salad, fold canned, whole-berry sauce into yogurt or sour cream.

If you want to dress up canned, whole-berry sauce, add pineapple bits, grated orange peel and walnuts.

To give steamed rice a festive look: When it’s 10 minutes from being done, quickly toss in a handful of dried cranberries and a tablespoon of grated orange peel.