Cranberries - tart, red, smooth-skinned, slightly crunchy berries - are one of three commercially grown fruits that are native to North America (the other two are blueberries and Concord grape). Native Americans ate cranberries, and also used them for dye and for medicinal purposes.

Early European colonizers to North America named the berries “craneberries,” either because cranberry blossoms resemble the heads of cranes or because cranes like to eat cranberries. American colonizers were quick to adopt cranberries as part of their diet. Ships often carried barrels of cranberries for sailors to eat on long voyages. Cranberries are rich in Vitamin C, and eating them helped to ward off scurvy, a disease caused by Vitamin C deficiency.

Most of the world’s cranberries are grown in North America. Cranberries grow on vines that lie close to the ground. The berries are generally cultivated in bogs surrounded by wetlands. They require acidic soil and a long growing season.

Cranberries are harvested in September and October. There are two methods for harvesting cranberries: dry harvest and wet harvest.

With the dry harvest method, cranberries are harvested with a special machine that combs the berries off the vines. This is the method used for cranberries that are sold fresh.

With the wet harvest method, which is the most common, the cranberry bogs are flooded, and a machine is used to shake the berries loose from their vines. The cranberries float to the surface and are gathered together. Cranberries harvested using this method are used in a variety of ways. More than half are used to make cranberry juice, which is often combined with other fruit juices such as apple or grape. Many cranberries are also made into jelly-like cranberry sauce, which is traditionally eaten by many Americans at Thanksgiving and throughout the holiday season. Sweetened dried cranberries are eaten as a snack, and are sometimes found in different food products, such as breakfast cereal.

Cranberries can also be used in baked goods and sauces. In addition to being a tasty addition to recipes, cranberries also have health benefits. They are rich in antioxidants and vitamins, and they have been proven to promote good urinary tract health.

Perhaps because people are coming to recognize the advantages of cranberries, their worldwide popularity has been growing. The estimated sales for cranberries in 2005 were over 7 million barrels, a record high.

By Mary Adair