Massachusetts Cranberry Culture: A History from Bog to Table

By Robert S. Cox and Jacob Walker

New Englanders know that cranberries are not for holidays alone. For centuries, this tart fruit--a staple in the Yankee diet since before it was domesticated--has reigned over the cranberry heartland of Barnstable and Plymouth Counties, Massachusetts. Dozens of recipes that utilize the "humble fruit" have risen up over the years, the most popular being cranberry sauce, which one imaginative New Englander paired with lobster. The popularity of the berry exploded in the 1840s, and despite occasional setbacks such as the great pesticide scare of 1959, demand continues to rise to this day. Authors Robert S. Cox and Jacob Walker trace the evolution of cranberry culture in the Bay State, exploring the delectable history of this quintessential New England industry.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The History Press
• Release date: Sep 14, 2012
• ISBN: 9781614236764

Robert S. Cox

A recovering paleontologist and sometime historian, Rob Cox is head of special collections at UMass Amherst, having previously held positions at the University of Michigan (where he received his PhD in history) and the American Philosophical Society. Having written on topics ranging from talking to the dead to Lewis and Clark and Quaker-Seneca relations, his most recent books include a trilogy on New England culinary history and, quite separately, the history of sleep.