Early references in English to cranberries include a comment from Thomas Shepard, a Puritan minister who left England for Massachusetts in 1635 and stayed there. In Clear Sunshine of the Gospel (1648), he records that the cranberry was harvested in the spring and autumn. There was also John Josselyn, the English traveller who recorded the first use of the word Thanksgiving in relation to the US. In his first book, New England Rarities he wrote about birds, beasts, fishes, serpents and plants of that country as the sub-title to his 1672 book states. There is the first description of cranberry in English as “a small trailing plant that grows in salt marshes”. He mentions many of the features that make the cranberry famous today, being sour, excellent against scurvy, good for sauces to go with meats and also for making tarts.
The cranberry is one of the few fruits which is native to North America. After almost 200 years of commercial cultivation, America leads the way in cranberry production. The state of Wisconsin alone provides more than 50% of the world’s entire supply for the product. Originally the cranberry was used primarily in sauces traditionally served for Thanksgiving and Christmas turkey, making growers extremely dependent on the holiday market. Applications for the cranberry expanded largely in the 1960s, firstly in juices and nectars, more recently dried in cereals, in chocolate confectionary, in snacks, in food supplements due to its nutrient content and antioxidant qualities. Key markets outside the US are the UK, Germany and Japan.
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