Did You Know: Cranberry Is The New “Jersey Tomato”?

Did you know that New Jersey was the third largest producer of Cranberries? Well, I didn't, so I did some research and am now a certified expert on the topic.  Here are some facts:

• European American settlers created the name cranberries after their blossom's resemblance to crane birds.
• Here is a picture of a crane bird. 
• In 2016, 646,000 barrels of cranberries (each barrel is 100 pounds) were cultivated from NJ, which brought in 27.84 million dollars, according to Philly Voice.
• The Pine Barrens are perfect for growing cranberries. Farms such as the Haines Family Farm have been cultivating for over 125 years.
• Cranberry juice is also perfect in helping treat urinary tract infections.

Pictured above is the Haines Family's Pine Island Cranberry bog. They have 1,400 acres of bogs in our very own Burlington County.

So if you have this reaction to Cranberries:

Then you may want to tour a cranberry bog. You are now able to tour Gerber's Farm in the Pine Barrens. Here you can learn about harvesting, understand how bogs are flooded, and watch farmers dry harvest berries.

Fall is the perfect harvest season, so instead of pumpkin picking or wine touring this upcoming season, go visit your local cranberry bog instead.

But I think I'll stick to apple & pumpkin picking. I don't think cranberries are trending for me this season.