Cranberries make their debut in the fall and are featured at Thanksgiving dinners, but are good for recipes all season such as in this cranberry-pear crisp.

Here’s a sure sign of fall: Cranberries made their 2011 debut last Saturday at the St. Paul, Minn., Farmers Market.

Specifically, cranberries from North Tomah Cranberry Co., the Rezin family’s fourth-generation Wisconsin operation, about three hours southeast of the Twin Cities.

Like grapes, cranberries are finicky and require patience. Their vines take up to five years before they produce, and, contrary to popular belief, are not cultivated in water but in irrigated sand marshes that are flooded for harvesting purposes.

"They don’t like dry conditions, but they don’t like having their feet wet all the time, either," said Mike Simon. His wife, Teresa, is the great-granddaughter of the farm’s founder; the couple work alongside Teresa’s parents, John and Joy, and her brother Jeff.

Most of the Rezins’ 180-acre output is contracted to the Ocean Spray co-op and winds up as juice. Fortunately for farmers’ market shoppers, the family also reserves part of their crop for fresh berries, the operative word being fresh: they’re picked — using a dry-harvest process — and sorted 24 to 48 hours prior to sale.

Cranberries, which are native to North America, are too tart to be enjoyed raw, although they work well in both sweet and savory situations and pair particularly well with apples and pears. They also have a remarkable shelf life. Simon noted that cranberries will keep six to eight weeks in the refrigerator, "and close to forever in the freezer," he said. "We’ve had some that were three years old and they were still just as good as the day we froze them."

The Simons were doing a brisk business, meeting and greeting a constant stream of curious customers and sharing recipes and tips while scooping the scarlet-colored berries from big wooden boxes into handy plastic bags. The family tries to stretch out the crop as long as possible, but as the autumn leaves attest, nothing lasts forever.

"It’s a short window," said Simon. "It all depends upon the weather. We try to make it to that last week before Thanksgiving."

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CRANBERRY-PEAR CRISP

Serves 6 to 8.

Note: From "Come One, Come All: Easy Entertaining With Seasonal Menus" by Lee Svitak Dean (Minnesota Historical Society Press, $29.95).

8 ripe pears (or apples), peeled, cored and cut into ¼-inch slices

1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 c. fresh cranberries

¼ c. granulated sugar

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 c. rolled oats

¾ c. flour

½ c. firmly packed brown sugar

8 tbsp. (1 stick) butter, at room temperature, cut into small pieces

Whipped cream, for garnish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, toss pear (or apple) slices in lemon juice. Add cranberries, granulated sugar and cinnamon and toss to combine. Spread fruit in an ungreased 9- by 13-inch baking pan.

In a medium bowl, combine oats, flour, brown sugar and butter with a fork until crumbly. Sprinkle oat mixture over fruit.

Bake until fruit is tender and topping is lightly browned, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and serve warm, at room temperature or chilled. Top with whipped cream.

Nutrition information per each of 8 servings:

Calories: 400; Fat: 15 g; Sodium: 91 mg; Carbohydrates: 67 g; Saturated fat: 9 g: Calcium: 48 mg; Protein: 4 g; Cholesterol: 38 mg; Dietary fiber: 8 g

Diabetic exchanges per serving: 2 fruit, 1½ other carb, 3 fat.