By Lorin Gaudin

What gives the blues and makes you “happy happy” at the same time? Blueberries of course! June traditionally signals the onset of blueberry season. All over North America, Canada to Florida and many points in-between, pick-your-own blueberry farms flourish.

Folks gather together and gather berries for family fun and delicious munching. Blueberries have an interesting history along with some highly touted health benefits. There’s plenty of news about the little blues and some unusual recipes too.

Long cherished by Native Americans, blueberries were probably the first familiar foodstuff found by many colonists, as they were similar to the hurtleberries found all over England and Scotland. The natural sweetness of the wild berries is thought to have been a popular native fruit since sugar was scarce and very expensive in the early years of North America. Both fresh and preserved blueberries played an important role in the diet of early Native Americans. After drying the berries in the sun, they beat them into a powder and added it to their parched meal to make a dish called “Sautauthig”. Lewis and Clark, in their journey into the Northwest Territories, found Native Americans smoke-drying their blueberries to use during the winter in soups, stews and with meats. One of their first meals with these natives was venison cured by having blueberries pounded into the flesh and then smoke-dried.

Canada has an extensive blueberry cultivation history that is an article unto itself. Beautiful, lush groves can be found all over with notable spots for pick-your-own in Ontario, Nova Scotia and Quebec. Picking berries is listed as a highlighted activity in many tourism notes for the country. Fun facts: Trappist priests who came to Quebec at the beginning of the nineteenth century were picking blueberries and using them in a delicious treat of fresh blueberries dipped in chocolate. That specialty remains famous throughout Quebec, but is only available in blueberry season (July and August). In the Eastern Townships, giant blueberries are grown in many blueberry groves along the blue road.

In the U.S., many states give us the blues all the way through October. Take your pick (pun intended) and head in any direction to find groves in the Northeast, Midwest, Pacific Northwest and Southeast. Berry picking is a fun vacation activity and has the panache of simplicity. Many wild blueberry bushes turn up alongside rural back-roads and are there for the picking. Of course these wild berries can turn up in pies or jams, if they make it home. Berry picking can be a fun family affair with no age barrier. What better way to spend time in the outdoors than filling baskets or the hem of a T-shirt with berries, tasting a few (or so) as you go and of course the kiddy favorite, turning blue. Of course “sampling” those berries may also provide substantial health benefits.

In recent years, U.S. studies proclaim reveal the blueberry as a leading source of antioxidants among fresh fruits and vegetables (according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston). The berry’s pigments are said to supply the antioxidants that some doctors say can keep people young, prevent clogged arteries and reduce wrinkling. Besides, blueberries are a low calorie food, good source of fiber and terrific addition to many recipes.

Do yourself a favor and have the blues. Whether, picking, cooking or simply eating, blueberries are an indulgence to guiltlessly enjoy.

Blueberry Pudding

Blueberry Drop Cookies

Filed Under: Food Talk