Cranberries were first used by Native Americans who discovered the berry's versatility as a food, fabric dye and healing agent. Today, cranberries are commercially grown throughout the northern part of the United States, which produces 88% of the world’s cranberries and are available in both frozen and processed forms in Australia. The cranberry, along with the blueberry and Concord grape, is one of North America's three native fruits that are commercially grown.

The name "cranberry" derives from the Pilgrim name for the fruit, "craneberry," so called because the small, pink blossoms that appear in the spring resemble the head and bill of a Sandhill crane. European settlers adopted the Native American uses for the fruit and found the berry a valuable bartering tool. American whalers and mariners carried cranberries, which contain Vitamin C, on their voyages to prevent scurvy. In 1810, Captain Henry Hall became the first to successfully cultivate cranberries. By 1871, the first association of cranberry growers in the United States had formed, and now, just over a century later, the United States harvests approximately 36,000 acres (14,570 hectares) of cranberries each year.