A cranberry is a small, round, bright red berry that grows on low vines in cool, wet areas called bogs. Fresh cranberries taste extremely tart and sour, so people usually cook them with sugar to make cranberry sauce, juice, or dried cranberries.

Native to North America, cranberries were used by Indigenous peoples for food and medicine long before European settlers arrived. The berries became famous as part of the traditional Thanksgiving meal, where sweet cranberry sauce balances the savory flavors of turkey and stuffing.

Cranberries grow in a fascinating way. Farmers flood the bogs with water during harvest, and the berries float to the surface where they can be gathered easily. If you've ever seen pictures of a bright red sea of cranberries with farmers standing in the water, that's a cranberry harvest.

Wisconsin and Massachusetts are the top cranberry-growing states in America.