Cranberries are part of an evergreen dwarf shrub family. Close cousins to the cranberry include blueberries and huckleberries.

Cranberries are native to North America and are one of the few commercially popular fruits that originated on the continent. Concord grapes and blueberries are among the others.

Cranberries are typically grown in the Northern Hemisphere. The main variety in Europe is Vaccinium oxycoccos, while American cranberries are known as Vaccinium macrocarpon.

Cranberries are also grown quite productively in Chile, but the United States and Canada remain the top producers. The U.S. state of Wisconsin, in particular, is home to most of the cranberry crop. In fact, there’s a Cranberry Museum located in Warrens, Wisconsin.

While cranberry sauce is popular at both American and Canadian Thanksgivings, it is also a common side dish for British Christmas dinners.

The word cranberry comes from the old German dialect word kraanbere, which translates to “craneberry.” It was first called cranberry in English by missionary John Eliot in 1647.

Cranberries are typically grown in wetlands, but today they are cultivated in specially constructed bogs that are flooded during harvest.

The vast majority of cranberries in the United States are wet-picked, meaning they must be frozen or processed almost immediately. Dry-picked cranberries, on the other hand, can be sold fresh and are far less bruised than their wet-picked counterparts.

Cranberries are a modest source of fiber and vitamin C, but they contain an impressive amount of antioxidants.

Cranberries have also been shown to help prevent or treat urinary tract infections (UTIs).

Cranberries float in water because they contain air pockets. In fact, ripe cranberries can even bounce like a ball.