No, not the Irish band who enjoyed a modicum of success in the mid-nineties, the fruit. Small, red, slightly tart and a holiday season essential essential, the cranberry takes its name from Dutch and German North American settlers who observed that the fruit's blossoms looked like the neck,   head and bill of a crane. Native Americans had been using them for hundreds of years before them though, proving again that they're pretty wise folk. As far as holiday meals go, cranberries will either make or break your turkey. You simply can't not have them, end of story. In their dried form they're simply delicious and the juice is perfect with vodka too. Who could ask for much more from a fruit? DP

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