Blueberries

Blueberries

Facts:

• are related to azaleas, camelias, heathers, and rhododendrons
• are native to North America
• The Native Americans used the fruit both fresh and dried
• weren't improved by scientific breeding work until the early 1900's
• breeding programs were led by George Darrow
• won't ripen once they are picked!
• are becoming more popular than ever, over 1500 new products containing blueberries were introduced last year!!!
• 1/2 cup of blueberries has only 42 calories
• have more antioxidants than most other fruits and vegetables
• top 3 producing states are Michigan, New Jersey, and Oregon

Growing Your Own:

• More productive if cross pollinated so plant more than one plant
• Plant early spring in well-drained soil, full sun
• Soil should have high organic content, add peat or compost to planting hole, pH of 4.5-5.0
• Mulch not deeper than 3" to prevent weeds
• Fertilize once plants have established themselves in late spring 1st year 1oz. (30gm) per plant 2nd year 4oz.(120gm) add 1oz.(30gm) per year after initial planting until 8oz(240gm). You can add 1/2 the yearly amount at bloom and the other half 4-6 weeks later
• Prune - 1st two years remove the flowers so plants develop a solid root system. Year 3 begin to remove older canes. Fully mature bushes should be pruned to leave 1 out of  6 canes. Late winter / early spring are the best pruning times.

Blueberry Orange Whirl

• 1 package (12 ounces) frozen blueberries, unthawed or 2 and 1/2 cups of fresh blueberries
• 1 container (8 ounces) vanilla low-fat yogurt
• 1/2 cup of orange juice
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Put all of the ingredients into an electric blender or food processor and whirl until smooth. Serve immediately. Yields: 4 servings.

Blueberry Muffins

• 1 cup of fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1 and 3/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon flour, divided
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of nutmeg
• 3/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1 egg
• 1 cup of sour cream
• 1/3 cup of milk

Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease twelve 2-1/2-inch muffin cups. Toss blueberries with 1 tablespoon of the flour. Combine the remaining 1-3/4 cups of flour, the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and salt in a bowl and set aside. Beat the egg, sour cram and milk; stir into the flour mixture until just combined (the batter will be lumpy). Stir in blueberries until evenly distributed. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full of batter. Bake about 20 minutes until golden. Yields: 12 muffins

Source - USDA Fruit Lab