How to pick blueberries? First, you need a "big comb"

Have you ever seen blueberries picked like this?

First encounter with blueberries

I’m not sure when I first ate blueberries, but I remember that blueberry cheesecake was already sold in Shanghai in 2005. However, at that time, fresh blueberries were never sold in supermarkets or fruit stalls in the Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai areas.

Blueberry-studded desserts are so mouth-watering | Pixabay

Since I started studying in the United States in 2008, blueberries have been on my daily fruit list. In supermarkets, small boxes of Driscoll (a North American fruit brand that makes various berries) blueberries are always sold together with strawberries, blackberries, and cranberries of this brand, but I have never thought that they are particularly delicious - many fruits sold in American supermarkets are primarily used to make desserts, so the color and appearance are always perfect, but the taste is often lacking in sweetness and full of acidity. At that time, a classmate's family was growing blueberries, and other classmates often envied her, but at first I could not understand why growing blueberries was so enviable.

North American highbush blueberry Vaccinium corymbosum | John Baur / GBIF

Until the summer vacation of my sophomore year, I stayed at the home of a senior. In August, in the middle of summer, she took me to pick blueberries. Due to the high labor costs in North America, the price of fruits in this kind of self-pick orchard is at least 50% cheaper than in the supermarket , and you are only charged for the amount you take away, so you can eat as much as you want while picking. We were surrounded by clusters of blueberries that were almost as tall as us. We could pick ripe blueberries with our hands, put them in our mouths and take a sip. The sweet and fragrant pulp and juice would flow out, covering the taste buds. The skin was also fresh and tender without residue and no astringency. We could only keep picking blueberries and putting them in our mouths until our burps tasted of blueberries, then we would stop eating in disappointment and pick them seriously.

Fresh blueberry branches | Pixabay

However, due to my poor picking skills, I often broke the skin, and there was no condition to quickly refrigerate the picked blueberries in the hot August, which resulted in the blueberries I picked myself not being able to keep . Basically, the blueberries lost their original full color and taste the next day, and tasted soft with a hint of wine, like newly brewed "blueberry wine" - this flavor made people look forward to picking blueberries again.

When I graduated and returned to China in 2012, blueberries were gradually becoming popular in China . From supermarkets to fruit stalls, from Beijing to Shanghai to Guangzhou, you can buy small boxes of blueberries. Although the quality varies, blueberries are no longer just a kind of jam in our lives, although blueberry jam is also delicious, especially when paired with cream and cheese. Even the most mediocre blueberry jam has a fresh aroma, which can not only enhance the flavor and remove greasiness, but also improve the original monotonous taste of the ingredients.

Delicious blueberry jam made with blueberries, lemon, sugar or honey | Qingtangshe Food Studio / Douguo Food

It is a real delicacy

Blueberries are delicate fruits that require great freshness . They must be grown in the right soil, climate and temperature to produce delicious blueberries. They must also be picked at the right time and season to be ripe. These thousands of perfectly harvested blueberries are neither sour nor astringent, but sweet and mellow, with a rich aroma and a long aftertaste. They become pulpy when you put them in your mouth. They are real berries.

Freshly picked blueberries taste much better than those in supermarkets | blueberrycouncil.org

Such high-quality blueberries should not be picked up one by one in a stingy way. The right way to eat them is to stuff a handful into your mouth , boldly and generously. Grab a handful of fresh blueberries, fill your entire mouth, chew them a little, and even without moving your lips and teeth much, just squeeze them lightly to crush the blueberries. Then you can feel the unique aroma of blueberries from your throat to your lips and teeth, from your mouth to your chest, filling your entire body.

If you close your eyes at this time, you can vaguely recall the memories of our ancestors in the primeval forests in ancient times, eating mountain fruits when hungry and drinking stream water when thirsty. Even after evolution to this day, we still retain the most primitive memories. Even if we have tasted many carefully cooked delicacies, our tongues and brains still prefer the most original and pure delicacies in nature. This is a gift from nature and one of the thousands of wonderful and beautiful coincidences in the world.

Blueberries look expensive | Pixabay

The blueberries we eat are not a species

Blueberry is actually a general term for several species of berries. In a narrow sense, blueberries include the northern highbush blueberry Vaccinium corymbosum, which has the widest planting range and the highest yield, as well as the southern blueberry V. tenellum, the lowbush blueberry V. angustifolium and the rabbiteye blueberry V. virgatum. These species all belong to the Ericaceae family, Vaccinium genus, Vaccinium subgenus, Cyanococcus group; in a broad sense, blueberries include all species of the genus Vaccinium with blue berries, such as Vaccinium uliginosum, which grows at 900 to 2300 meters in Changbai Mountain , which can also be called blueberries.

Blueberries at different stages of ripeness | Zirpe / wikipedia

These lovely shrubs that produce delicious berries have some common characteristics, like small white to pink inverted bell-shaped flowers ; they prefer soil that is noticeably acidic (pH≈5); and after the fruits mature through different stages of color—green, white, and purple—they produce blue-purple fruits with a layer of white wax on the skin . This wax is natural and does not need to be washed off intentionally. In fact, this wax is the hallmark of fresh blueberries . Over time, the wax on blueberries will gradually fade until it is no longer visible. Yes, most of the shiny blueberries in supermarkets have been stored for a long time.

Blueberry flowers. Blueberry is actually a very important nectar plant. In North America, there are special bees to pollinate blueberries. In Maine, where blueberries are produced, every year when blueberries bloom, 50,000 boxes of bees from many other places will come to ensure the pollination of blueberries. | Kurt Stüber / wikipedia

Of course, in addition to the commonalities, different species also have different characteristics. The tallest blueberry bush can grow up to 4 meters, while the shortest can be only about 10 centimeters. As the name suggests, the northern highbush blueberry is a relatively tall blueberry. In addition to the high yield, the advantage of being tall is that it is easier to pick. The northern highbush blueberry is native to North America. The largest producing country is the United States, and the second largest is Chile. In recent years, the cultivation in China has gradually increased, and many varieties have been introduced. These varieties have subtle differences in taste, fruit size, and maturity. In general, blueberry farms prefer early-maturing varieties, perhaps because fruits that are available early can be sold at a higher price.

Some common blueberry varieties in China, Duke’s English name is Duke, so it is also translated as Duke or Duke.

Blueberries are delicious, but they are not a panacea

Of course, in all the propaganda about the magical effects of blueberries, there are often all kinds of exaggerated claims about anthocyanins. Anthocyanins are actually a very common plant pigment, found in everything from eggplant to grapes. If we compare the concentration of anthocyanins, blueberries do not have any strong advantages.

A cross-section of a blueberry. We can see that the anthocyanins in blueberries are actually produced in the peel, and the flesh has no color | Zirpe / wikipedia

If you like to eat blueberries, I hope you like their taste and appearance, rather than pinning your hopes of longevity on this small fruit, which would probably make blueberries feel a little overwhelmed.

Author: Piaopiao

Cover image source: Pixabay

This article comes from GuokrNature (ID: GuokrNature)

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