"You might be familiar with your state's official bird or flower, but did you know that many states have an official beverage, as well? It typically coincides with an important agricultural resource for the place that adopted the drink. Florida has its orange juice and Tennessee has its milk. When it comes to the Bay State of Massachusetts, cranberry juice is the official beverage."
"Cranberry juice became Massachusetts' official beverage on May 4, 1970, about 40 years after commercial production of the tart beverage began in the state. By then, people in the area had been consuming it for centuries. As you might imagine, meeting demand requires a lot of fruit. According to the USDA, Massachusetts was on track to collect 2.25 million barrels of cranberries from 14,000 acres of bogs in 2024."
"Cranberry juice made early appearances in 17th-century American cookbooks, but it wasn't a truly popular beverage until big-name farmers banded together to bottle it. They formed brands that made cranberry juice readily available on grocery store shelves, even in states where cranberry bogs didn't exist. Among these major names was Ocean Spray, which began in the 1930s and still owns and operates several cranberry farms in Massachusetts"
Cranberry juice became Massachusetts' official beverage on May 4, 1970, about 40 years after commercial production began in the state. People in the area had consumed cranberries for centuries. Massachusetts harvested large quantities, with the USDA reporting an expected 2.25 million barrels from 14,000 acres of bogs in 2024. Cranberries are also the state's official berry. The United States produces more cranberries than any other country, and Massachusetts ranks second in national cranberry harvests behind Wisconsin. Major cooperative brands such as Ocean Spray, formed in the 1930s, helped popularize bottled cranberry juice nationwide.
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