Cranberry

The cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) is a low-growing, woody perennial native to the bogs and wetlands of north-eastern North America. The fruit is too tart to eat raw in quantity, so it is almost always processed — dried and sweetened, made into juice or sauce, or used as an ingredient in baked goods and cereals.

Cranberries have been harvested by Indigenous peoples of North America for thousands of years, used as food, dye, and medicine. Commercial cultivation began in the early 19th century in Massachusetts and has since expanded to Wisconsin, Quebec, British Columbia, and parts of Chile.

In Australia, cranberries are almost entirely imported, primarily as dried fruit, juice concentrate, or frozen berries. They are a staple of holiday cooking in North America, particularly as cranberry sauce served alongside turkey.

Farmed Source
photograph to come — from twenty years of markets, farms and kitchens

How it's produced

Cranberries are grown in purpose-built bogs or marshes with sandy, acidic soil and a reliable water supply. The vines are planted in beds that can be flooded and drained as needed. Most commercial cranberry harvesting uses the “wet harvest” method: bogs are flooded and mechanical beaters dislodge the berries, which float to the surface and are corralled for collection.

Dry harvesting with mechanical pickers is used for fresh-market fruit. After harvest, cranberries are sorted, cleaned, and processed into dried fruit, juice, sauce, or frozen products. The growing cycle runs from spring through autumn, with harvest typically in September to November in the Northern Hemisphere.

What it costs the planet (per kilo)

Carbon ≈0.5kg
Freshwater ≈130L
Land ≈0.4m²

≈ Estimated from its category — typical for vegetables, not measured for this item yet. Sources & methods →

Keeping it

In the freezer: about 360 days.

In the fridge: about 60 days (from date of purchase).

Advice from Cubud’s own keeping notes — how to keep it, not a measured number.

What comes from this

Cranberry, fruit (harvested) Cranberry, product (harvested)
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