Blueberries are such a great diet staple and should be enjoyed to their fullest! If you have ever wondered how to pick out the best blueberries, if they should have a white color on them, if they should be soft or hard, or if they should be stored on the counter or in the refrigerator, this post is for you! This post is all about how to select and store blueberries in order to be able to enjoy them to their fullest.
(This post is an excerpt from The Produce Nerd’s Grocery Guide, with input provided by Maria Espino from Dirt and Sky Farm. You can learn more about the Grocery Guide, which covers this information for 55 different produce items, with input from 26 crop-specific companies HERE.)
What to look for when picking the best quality blueberries?
- When picking the best quality blueberries at the grocery store, I would look at several factors. First, where is the product from? This is important because the quality of blueberries varies by country. The United States has the highest standards when it comes to our produce and working conditions. Currently, many of our blueberries are imported from Mexico, Chile, Peru, Argentina and Uruguay during the fall and winter seasons, and many come from local sources during the spring and early summer.
- The next thing I would look at is the packing date. The longer the fruit is off the plant, the fewer flavors it will have. This also means the farther it has traveled, the chances are the flavors will just be less. Going back to the saying that local is best. In this case it might be safe to assume that buying frozen blueberries that are from local sources will have more flavor than buying so called fresh blueberries that were picked early and traveled across the continent.
- Like many fruits and veggies, there are many varieties of blueberries. Frequently the hardiest ones are sold, but do not always have the best flavors. A little secret….picking berries earlier in the season usually bring you fuller flavors and bigger berries. This goes for other fruit as well, like strawberries. They are sweeter and bigger at the beginning of the season. The beginning of the season for blueberries is mid to late spring, depending on what state they come from.
Common issues to avoid when selecting blueberries?
- When shopping for blueberries in the store, shop with your eyes and your mind. You will also pick up the package and look for mold and wilting. Chances are if one package of that brand looks bad, then they are probably all bad. Also look at labeling a little closer. There are packing companies with the name California in them. This does not mean they come from California, especially if you are buying them in January. It is good to have a basic knowledge of what is in season, so that you can have better tasting food, and be aware of where it is coming from.
What is the best way to store blueberries at home?
- Blueberries should always be cooled if they are picked ripe. If they are placed in an area far away from the refrigerated section, I would be wary of buying them. Traditionally blueberries have been hand-picked for the freshest of berry. However, with the increase in popularity, more farms are using mechanisms to harvest them. This means finding the best tasting berries at the supermarket is less likely. Again, buying local and in season will give you the best tasting berries.
Are there any common things that consumers should look for not mentioned above?
- As mentioned earlier, there are many varieties of blueberries with different flavors; they are not labeled in the store, nor are most other fruit varieties labeled. In the end, blueberries should all be cared for the same way, with chilling or refrigeration. New cultivars are being created all the time for size, flavor and hardiness. Traditionally, California was not a blueberry growing state, but with the creation of new cultivars, California is now able to grow blueberries in places it could not before. It is also able to fill a gap in the season between the Washington, Maine and Florida regions. That being said, if you must have your blueberries, follow the guidelines above by looking at packaging carefully and reading the labels thoroughly.
What is your favorite way to eat and prepare blueberries?
- Part of the joy of blueberries for me is the joy of plucking them off of the plant and stuffing them into my mouth. Well, that is part of the joy of growing your own food in general, but I get to enjoy the freshness and enjoy the freedom to just consume them as I may. For this reason, my favorite way to eat them is fresh, right off the plant. Now, I realize not everybody has that choice or they don’t live next to a blueberry grower. The next step to blueberry enjoyment is to buy them in season and as local as possible. Buying fresh will make all those blueberry desserts taste amazing.
- In conclusion, add blueberries to your shopping list, take a trip out to your local blueberry farmer, or buy them frozen (my kids love them frozen on a hot day). It does not matter how you eat them, as long as you are enjoying them.
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