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A Harvest of Cranberries
Searching for fall color? It doesn't get more colorful than the autumn cranberry harvest in Wisconsin. Wisconsin produces more cranberries than any other state — more than 3 million barrels each year. The bright red berry is a Wisconsin native and has been enjoyed by people here for more than 1,000 years. The sandy, acidic soil left behind by the glaciers in central Wisconsin created a perfect environment for the hardy vines that bear millions of berries in bogs annually.
While commercial cranberry production began near Berlin, Wisconsin, around 1860, Indians had harvested cranberries for food and medicinal use for centuries before that time. Several varieties grew naturally and abundantly, especially in Wood and Waushara counties. Wisconsin's Indians had learned to enhance production by rotating harvest seasons and burning off fields, skills that they taught to white explorers and settlers. Early French explorers bartered for cranberries with Indians, and American sailors took barrels of cranberries on long voyages to prevent scurvy. Indians continued to harvest cranberries for themselves and as laborers for large commercial growers well into the 20th century.
The first cultivated cranberry marshes date back to the 1860s with the arrival of Edward Sacket. Copying methods used in the eastern U.S., Sacket built dams and dug ditches around native vines to encourage their growth and to protect the berries from early frost. Sacket's success inspired his neighbors to follow his lead and Berlin growers were soon making huge profits.
As cranberry production boomed in Berlin, cranberry cultivation spread to Jackson, Juneau, Monroe and Wood counties. Although cranberries could be incredibly lucrative for growers, the crops were constantly threatened by drought, frost, and fire. In 1887 the Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association was formed to help advance the interests of growers and to promote improvements in cultivation.
All of the cranberry varieties grown today are simply wild berries that have been diligently cultivated. In 1893 Andrew Searles developed the Searles Jumbo from a native Wisconsin berry. The Searles Jumbo is still the leading variety grown in Wisconsin. Searles was also one of the first cranberry growers to practice water raking as a harvesting method. Early cranberry crops had been picked by hand, a slow and expensive process. Raking allowed growers to flood the marsh and then loosen the berries from the vines with the rakes. Using this method, workers could harvest 12 to 20 barrels a day, more than twice the usual amount.
Today Wisconsin has about 150 marshes in 20 counties. Cranberries are Wisconsin's number one fruit crop, and in 2004 the cranberry became Wisconsin's official state fruit. Cities across central Wisconsin host cranberry festivals each fall, and there is even a cranberry museum in Warrens, Wisconsin.
Looking for a way to use those cranberries? Try these cranberry puffs from Henriette Davidis' popular German American cookbook.
:: Posted October 20, 2006
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