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Popular Name: Cranberry

Scientific Name: Vaccinium macrocarpum Ait. V. oxycoccus L (small bush cranberry), V erythrocarpum Michx (Southern Mt. Cranberry), V. Vitis (Lowbush Cranberry)

Family: Ericaceae.

Common Names:  Cranberry, Bounceberry, "Trailing Swamp Cranberry"

There are several theories as to the origin of the name 'cranberry.' One is that the open flowers look like the head of a crane; another is that cranes like to these sour berries.

The Pequot Indians of Cape Cod called the berry ibimi, meaning bitter berry.

Algonquin Indians were among the first to harvest wild cranberries. They used them for food, medicine, and as a symbol of peace.

Native Americans pounded cranberries into a paste and mixed with dried meat, and called this mixture 'pemmican.' 

One of the first references to cranberries was made in a letter written by Mahon Stacy to his brother in England dated April 26, 1680.

American and Canadian sailors on long voyages knew they could eat cranberries to protect themselves from scurvy -- making them a cranberry counterpart to British "limeys."

Cranberries are a major commercial crop in the American states of Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin, as well as in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and Quebec.

John Webb, the first recorded New Jersey grower, was also the first person to notice that good cranberries bounce. Because he had a wooden leg, John couldn’t carry his cranberries down the stairs, so he dropped them instead. He soon noticed that the firmest berries bounced to the bottom but the rotten ones stayed on the steps.

Small pockets of air inside the berry cause the cranberry to bounce. Air also causes berries to float in water.

The cranberry is one of three fruits native to North America. The other two are the Concord grape and the blueberry.

Wild cranberries were probably served at the first Thanksgiving meal.

If you lined up all the cranberries produced in North America in 2000, they would stretch from Boston to Los Angeles more than 565 times.

The first cranberry crop was harvested in 1816 in Massachusetts.

Cranberries grow wild in northern states from Maine to Wisconsin and down the Appalachian Mountains to North Carolina.

In 1996, the worldwide cranberry harvest produced 40 cranberries for every person on the planet.

There are approximately 333 cranberries in a pound, 3,333 cranberries in one gallon of juice, 33,333 cranberries in a 100-pound barrel.

In early times, cranberries were shipped to market in wooden barrels.  Each barrel held 100 pounds of cranberries.  Even though many years have passed since cranberries were shipped in barrels, this unit of weight still remains the industry standard.

Cranberry juice contains a chemical that blocks pathogens that cause tooth decay

Historically, cranberry beds were constructed in wetlands. Currently cranberry beds are constructed in upland areas that have a shallow water table.

A common misconception about cranberry production is that the beds remain flooded throughout the year. During the growing season cranberry beds are not flooded, but are irrigated regularly to maintain soil moisture.

Beds are flooded in the fall to facilitate harvest and again during the winter to protect against low temperatures.

White cranberry juice drinks are made from regular cranberries that have been harvested after the fruit are mature, but before they have attained their characteristic dark red color.

About 95% of cranberries are processed into products such as juice, sauce, and sweetened dried cranberries. The remaining 5% is sold fresh to consumers.

The average number of cranberries used per can of sauce is 200.

90% of all cranberries are wet harvested. The bog is flooded then a great big eggbeater knocks the berries off the vine. They float up to the top of the water where they are scooped up.

Honeybees are often used to pollinate cranberry crops, and are in fact more valuable in the performance of this task than they are in the production of honey.

Beckwith, Early Black, Howes, McFarlin, Pilgrims, Searls and Stevens are amongst the many varieties of cranberries grown in North America.

A 12-ounce bag yields 3- cups whole or 2-1/2 cups chopped berries.

Cranberries can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one month, or in the freezer for up to nine months.

To keep cranberries at their best, do not wash them until just before using them.

Some cranberry beds are over 100 years old and still producing.

Cranberries are almost 90% water.

On average, every acre of cranberry bog is supported by 4 to 10 acres of wetlands, woodlands and uplands. This area offers refuge to a rich variety of wildlife including the bald eagle, osprey, great blue heron, fox, deer and wild turkey.

John Lennon repeated the words Cranberry sauce at the end of the song Strawberry Fields Forever, a fact that Lennon confirmed in a 1980 interview. He stated it was a kind of icing on the cake of the weirdness of song, where anything he might have imagined saying would have been appropriate.

Comedian Neil Hamburger, performing to hostile crowds on Tenacious D's 2006 world tour, would not leave the stage of large venues such as Madison Square Garden until he had gotten the entire audience to chant the phrase cranberry sauce several times.

In the U.S., most cranberry sauce (and cranberry products in general) is produced by the company Ocean Spray.

Ocean Spray is an agricultural cooperative owned by more than 650 cranberry growers in Massachusetts, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and other parts of Canada as well as more than 100 Florida grapefruit growers. Ocean Spray was formed 75 years ago by three cranberry growers from Massachusetts and New Jersey. Florida grapefruit growers joined the Cooperative in 1976.

Cranberries are rich in fiber, vitamin C, flavonoids, phenols and other substances that help protect against health problems like urinary tract infections, and chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease.
 

Cranberry History Timeline:

1550 Native Americans use cranberries for food, dyes and medicine. 

1620  Pilgrims learn to use cranberries from the Native Americans. 

1683 Cranberry juice made by settlers. 

1789 The New Jersey legislature passed an act fining anyone who picked cranberries before October 10 (a whopping 10 shillings) quite a bit at the time.

1816 Captain Henry Hall first cultivated cranberries in Dennis, MA. 

1820s  Cranberries shipped to Europe for sale. 

1838  First record of ice sanding on bogs. Flooding first used to control insects and prevent frost damage. 

1843  Eli Howes cultivated Howes variety of cranberries in East Dennis, MA. 

1845  “An Act for the Protection of Cranberries on Gay Head” put forth by Gay Head Indians on Martha’s Vineyard. 

1847  Cyprus Cahoon cultivated Early Black variety cranberries in Harwich, MA. 

1850s  First cranberry scoops used for harvest. Water harvesting tried, but abandoned. Seamen used cranberries to prevent scurvy at sea. 

1854 First census on cranberry acreage - 197 acres in Barnstable County, MA. 

1856 The Cranberry and its Culture published by Benjamin Eastwood. 

1860s Maine has over 600 acres of producing cranberry bogs. 

1863  US Department of Agriculture created Massachusetts Agricultural College (University of Massachusetts) founded. Abraham Lincoln proclaims first national Thanksgiving. 

1868 Standard 100 lb. barrel of cranberries sold for $0.58 in Philadelphia, PA.

1871 American Cranberry Growers’  Association formed in Massachusetts. 

1870s  Six quart pail used as standard picking measure. 

1885  Oregon - The first bog for cranberry cultivation was established by Charles Dexter McFarlin.

1887 Snap scoop invented for younger vines by Daniel Lumbert. 

1888 Cape Cod Cranberry Growers’ Association formed in Massachusetts. 

1906 Henry J. Franklin - Began formal agricultural research on cranberries.

1906 to 1925 Oregon - Eight bogs were established in the state.

1907 First market co-operative - New England Cranberry Sales Company founded. 

1910 Cranberry Experiment Station research facility established - Wareham, MA. 
Dr. Henry J. Franklin named first director of Cranberry Experiment Station. More efficient rocker scoop used. 

1912 Hayden cranberry separator patented. First cranberry sauce marketed, Hanson, MA. 

1920  Oscar Terbo invented first mechanical ride-on dry harvester known as Matthewson. Telephone frost warning system started. 

1923 Bailey Separator patented to grade and separate cranberries by bouncing the berries. 

1930 Ocean Spray formed as a grower-owned marketing cooperative - one of the three founding members was Marcus Urann, native of Sullivan, ME. 

1930s  Women allowed to use scoops. 

1930s, the first Oregon cranberry cooperative was formed growers.

1946 Ocean Spray opened its facility in Coos County Oregon.

1947 Walk-behind mechanical dry harvesters replaced hand scooping. 

1947 Bandon Oregon holds its first annual Bandon Cranberry Festival.

1953  First million-barrel national crop. 

1959 Cranberry scare causes industry market to crash. 

1960s  First successful water harvesting  Sprinkler systems installed on most bogs. Cranberry products diversify and market expands. 

1970s  Integrated Pest Management program used. 

1983  Formal IPM programs developed. 

1980s International market developed for cranberries and cranberry products become ingredients in other products. 

1989  Maine Cranberry Growers Association formed. 

1994 The Cranberry was made the official state berry of Massachusetts.

1995  Crop of 4,200 barrels harvested in Maine. 

1996 Dr. Irving Demoranville retired from Cranberry Experiment Station in MA  Per barrel return as much as $90.

1998 University of Maine Cooperative Extension adds a cranberry specialist to their organization (thanks to the State Legislature and the Maine Cranberry Growers Association)

2002 Two independent studies find that antioxidants—which cranberries are high in—appear to provide some significant protection against Alzheimer’s disease

2004 Crop of 21,000 barrels harvested in Maine.