Cranberries: Cranberries in History

Native Americans introduced cranberries to New England colonists, who quickly adopted them into their cookery. John Josselyn reported in New England’s Rarities Discovered (1672) that “the Indians and English use them much, boyling them with Sugar for Sauce to eat with their Meat; and it is a delicate Sauce especially for roasted Mutton; Some make Tarts with them as with Goose Berries.” In 1728, cranberries were identified as a food that children could eat between meals. America’s first cookbook author, Amelia Simmons, recommended in American Cookery (1796) that turkey be served with cranberries, a connection most likely made since early colonial times. During the nineteenth century, cranberries were used extensively in pies, sauces, jellies, jams, preserves, puddings, dumplings, marmalades, and ketchup. Cranberries were also mashed and made into a beverage called “cranberryade.”