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Commercial cranberry harvesting in Wisconsin goes back to 1860. We met with Mary Brazeau-Brown of Honestly Cranberry and Glacial Lake Cranberry Farm to talk about her family’s history with cranberries and what farming and production look like for them today.

Cranberries are native to North America, along with blueberries and concord grapes. Half of the world’s supply of cranberries is grown in Wisconsin. We’ve even adopted it as our state fruit!

The property Mary’s family farms on began to commercially produce cranberries in 1873. It is located in the township of Cranmoor, west of Wisconsin Rapids. Back then, the Arpins, a logging family, found cranberries growing wild on their property and decided to diversify their business to include cranberries. They also owned dredging equipment and were able to transform the land with dikes and ditches to expand the operation.

Mary’s grandfather was an attorney for the Arpin family when they decided to restructure their businesses and sell the farm. He gathered investors and purchased the land. In 1960, Mary’s father bought the property. Mary now owns and operates the farm with her family.

Mary hopes to carry on the traditions of the past while keeping an eye on the big picture. The property is not all cranberries. There are 6,000+ acres of land comprised of 350 acres of cranberries, 3,000 acres of reservoir and 2,800 acres in a forestry management plan. Some of the cranberry vines on this diverse system are 75 years old!

Honestly Cranberry started when Mary saw a need that was not being filled in the market – unsweetened dried cranberries. There are plenty of options available for dried cranberries, but they are sweetened with sugar or juice and oil is added to keep them from sticking. This adds taste, but also calories, which doesn’t work for every diet. And just as important, it reduces the natural and wonderful tartness of the cranberry. Mary has come up with a process to remove the moisture while protecting the pure and delicious flavor of this special Wisconsin fruit.

Not only has Honestly Cranberry provided an option for people seeking a clean-eating, allergen free, sugar free option to get their fill of cranberry benefits, but Mary has helped popularize this tart little fruit in several other markets as well. Mixologists are now muddling unsweetened cranberries into old fashioneds, adding them to mojitos and using them in other creative beverages. Pet parents with bunnies in their home are also regular customers at Honestly Cranberry. House bunnies have a very particular diet and unsweetened dried cranberries are a healthy addition. Who knew?! Check out HonestlyCranberry.com to purchase this delicious treat!

 

Listen to the full episode above or wherever you stream podcasts.