The other day, a clerk noted my husband’s July birth date on his driver’s license and asked, “What are you doing on your birthday?”
His answer was immediate and succinct…”blueberries”. She looked perplexed, and I nudged him to add a bit more. He explained, “They’re my favorite fruit and I want to eat lots of them on my birthday.”
My guy is lucky on three counts. First, he has a summer birthday, a good thing if you live in a northern clime. Second, July is National Blueberry Month. And third, we are only a five hour drive from one of America’s largest blueberry growing regions, southwest Michigan. This year we will be going there to get his berries fresh from the fields.
There are many good reasons to be a fan of this interesting fruit. Here’s the scoop on blueberries.
Blueberries and cranberries are the only two commercial fruit crops that are native to North America.
America is the world’s largest blueberry producer with Canada coming in second.
In America, blueberries are the second largest berry crop. Strawberries are number one.
People have been eating blueberries for over 13,000 years.
Native Americans called blueberries “starfruit” because of the perfect star shape at the blossom end of the berry. They would smoke the berries to preserve them for winter.
Early colonists would make gray paint by boiling blueberries in milk.
Five major types of blueberries are grown in America. The northern highbush variety is most common.
A single bush can produce as many as 6,000 berries a year.
A cup of blueberries is 80 calories. Compared to 40 other fruits and vegetables, blueberries have the highest level of antioxidants. They are an extremely healthy fruit, but not a miracle cure for everything that ails you.
Hammonton, New Jersey, claims to be the blueberry capital of the United States, but Washington State and Michigan are the top producers.
Blueberry muffins are the official state muffin of Minnesota.
New Jersey proclaims blueberries as their official state fruit.
Have a blueberry-laden day!