Cranberry juice
Cranberry juice is a drink made from cranberries, commonly sweetened or blended with other fruit juices because pure cranberry juice is sharply tart.
Cranberry: A tart red berry produced by several species of evergreen shrubs in the genus Vaccinium. The fruit supplies the juice’s characteristic acidity, color, and flavor.
Urinary tract infection: An infection affecting any part of the urinary system, most commonly the bladder. Cranberry products are studied and used for preventing some recurrent infections, not treating active ones.
Cranberry sauce: A cooked cranberry preparation served as a thick condiment, often with sugar. Unlike the drink, it retains a spoonable texture and is commonly served with meals.
Indigenous peoples of the Americas: The diverse peoples whose societies and cultures originated in the Americas before European colonization. Indigenous communities used cranberries as food and in traditional preparations before commercial juice production.
Fruit juice: A liquid extracted from the edible parts of fruit, sometimes filtered, concentrated, or sweetened. Cranberry juice is one fruit juice whose sharp taste often prompts blending.
Proanthocyanidin: A class of plant polyphenols found in foods including cranberries, with structures that vary across sources. Certain cranberry proanthocyanidins are investigated for effects on bacterial adhesion.
Cranberry wine: An alcoholic beverage made by fermenting cranberry juice or cranberries with added sugars. Fermentation turns cranberry’s juice into an alcoholic drink rather than a nonalcoholic beverage.
American cranberry: Vaccinium macrocarpon, a North American cranberry species widely cultivated for food and beverages. This species supplies most cultivated cranberries used in North American juice products.
Cranberry juice cocktail: A sweetened cranberry beverage that may contain water and other fruit juices. This common product differs from unsweetened cranberry juice in both formulation and taste.
Urinary tract infection prevention: Measures intended to reduce the chance of urinary tract infections, including selected behavioral and dietary approaches. Evidence about cranberry products concerns possible prevention, with benefits varying across studies and people.