History of the New Jersey Cranberry

History of the New Jersey Cranberry

Cranberries are one of the
most unique fruits in the world!  One of
only three fruits native to North America, cranberries grow in the wild on
long-running vines in sandy bogs and marshes. 
South Jersey Leni-Lenape tribes called them "ibimi," or bitter berry.

 Picked the berries by hand in early times, a
more efficient dry harvesting technique was developed, later revolutionizing
the process called wet harvesting. By flooding the bog with water, the
cranberry’s buoyancy allows it to float to the surface, where they are
collected.

Every autumn, usually from
mid-September until around mid-November, cranberries reach their peak of color
and flavor and are ready for harvesting. That's when growers harvest millions
of pounds of cranberries.

Program presented by
Historian Ferdinand Klebold