Cranberries

In the United States, this is Thanksgiving week. If I were home, I'd be planning a big turkey dinner for twelve. As it is, I'm invited to a pot-luck Thanksgiving dinner organized by my department chair, and therein hangs a problem. I volunteered to bring that very American side-dish, cranberry sauce. However, I cannot find any cranberries.

Cranberries are native to North America and have not yet caught on in Germany. Saturday I visited three greengrocers: no cranberries. Yesterday I went to the shops in the HauptBahnhof, the central rail station, which are the only shops open on Sunday in Leipzig. No cranberries. I have one more resource to check today: a gourmet delicatessen that, I'm told, is located in the basement of the big department store in the city center. If that doesn't work -- no cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving.

Cranberries are a terrific source of vitamin C. They can help prevent bladder infections because a chemical in them coats the inner bladder wall so that bacteria has trouble adhering there. They taste wonderful when prepared with sugar and a little orange zest. And they belong with Thanksgiving dinner.

But maybe not this year.