Cranberry

What it is

The American cranberry, Vaccinium macrocarpon, grows on low evergreen vines. A berry is round, red and about 1.3 cm (½ in) across. Fresh berries feel firm rather than soft. Their tartness carries through into cooking, which is why cranberry sauces and relishes often include sugar or sweeter fruit such as orange.

Where it comes from

American cranberries come from eastern and central North America, with a native range stretching from southern Canada to the Appalachian Mountains. Commercial crops also grow in British Columbia, Quebec, Canada’s Maritime provinces and Chile. Wisconsin is the largest growing state in the US: it harvested 4,605,000 barrels in 2025, about 209,000 tonnes.

Wisconsin is the largest US grower. Its 2025 harvest weighed about 209,000 tonnes. The crop is still counted in barrels, each weighing 100 pounds.

How it's eaten where it grows

In Maine, a raw relish combines chopped cranberries with a whole orange, peel included, and sugar. Cooked sauce takes a different route: berries simmer with sugar and water until the skins crack.

In Massachusetts, where Wampanoag cooks call the berry sasumuneash, Gail Melix of Santuit makes a raw relish with horseradish, onion and sour cream, frozen and taken out two hours before serving.

On Cape Cod, Mashpee Wampanoag cook Joan Tavares-Avant makes banana cranberry biscuits with chopped berries, mashed banana and a little cornmeal. Nearby in Santuit, Gail Melix’s raw cranberry relish pairs the berries with horseradish, onion and sour cream. Cranberry cooking can be sharp and savory as well as sweet.

How it's grown

Cranberry vines grow in acidic soil and usually begin bearing after two to three years. Bees pollinate the flowers. During active growth, growers keep the beds drained; a winter flood can freeze into a protective layer of ice. In Massachusetts about 95% of the crop is picked wet, from flooded beds where the berries float, and becomes juice, sauce and dried cranberries.

At wet harvest, water lifts the loosened berries to the surface for collection. These berries become juice, sauce and dried fruit. For the fresh-fruit trade, mechanical pickers comb berries from dry vines.

When and where you'll find it

Wisconsin’s fresh season usually falls in September and October. Fresh US cranberries are harvested only in the autumn and usually stay in supermarkets into January; some keep frozen cranberries all year. Fresh, dry-picked fruit also reaches farmers’ markets and roadside stands.

Frozen berries go straight into cooking without thawing. Juice, sauce and dried cranberries offer other ways to use the crop beyond the fresh harvest.