Since it’s American Thanksgiving this week, here is a post about the history of cranberries. And since I’m not American, it will be a short post. (Okay, it’s short because I’ve been procrastinating and I want to go read a book.)

Native Americans used wild cranberries in medicine, drinks, and food (including pemmican — a mixture of dried meat, melted fat, and berries).

The name “cranberry” probably comes from “crane-berry” since settlers thought the blossoms resembled the head and bill of a sandhill crane.

According to USCranberries.com, “The historic uses of cranberries are extensive. American whalers and mariners carried cranberries on board to prevent scurvy. Native Americans brewed cranberry poultices to draw poison from arrow wounds, used cranberry in tea to calm nerves, as well as using the juice as a dye for fabrics.”

In 1816 Captain Henry Hall was the first to successfully cultivate cranberries by transplanting wild plants into his “cranberry yards” (on Cape Cod). In 1820 he produced 30 barrels of cranberries,which he shipped to New York to sell.

Before long new varieties of cranberries were developed, as well as scoops for harvesting them (rather than hand picking).

According to CapeCodeLife.com (which has some great historical photos), “In 1888 the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers’ Association was formed, with a goal of standardizing barrel size, establishing uniform pricing, and improving marketing. In 1910 the Cranberry Experiment Station research facility was established in Wareham, under the leadership of Dr. Henry J. Franklin. In 1920 Oscar Tervo invented the first mechanical ride-on dry harvester, and a telephone frost warning system was developed. In 1930 Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. was formed as a grower-owned marketing cooperative.”

As I mentioned earlier, Thanksgiving was the inspiration for this post, so I better add that cranberry sauce first appeared in a can in 1912.

To conclude, here’s a great song by The Cranberries.