Things to know about blueberries

Blueberries are flowering crops native to North America (Canada). Scientific title of blueberries is Vaccinium corymbosum, belonging to the heather household (Ericaceae).

These perennial shrubs produce fruits which might be initially inexperienced when unripe then flip into reddish-purple and lastly into bluish-purple as they ripen. These fruits are both grown within the wild or cultivated in fields. True wild blueberries solely develop in jap and north-central North America.

Berries which belong to different species like huckleberries and bilberries that are from western North America and Europe, respectively, might look very a lot alike to the true wild blueberries. That’s the reason they’re typically known as blueberries. So as to distinguish blueberries from bilberries, the fruits have to be lower in half. Ripe blueberries have white or greenish flesh, whereas bilberries and huckleberries are coloured purple all through.

Since blueberries at the moment are cultivated, they’re now grown all over the world. South Africa is now exporting blueberries to Europe and Chile is the most important exporter to the northern hemisphere. There are numerous sorts of blueberries which differ in sizes of the shrubs and sweetness of the fruits. The highbush blueberries are widespread in Europe because it was first launched in Germany within the 1930’s. That is in all probability the most well-liked selection as a result of it’s generally bought within the supermarkets.

Blueberries possibly small in measurement however the information behind them are massive time revelations, listed below are some fascinating trivias about blueberries:

• Early American settlers made gray paint by boiling blueberries in milk. The blue paint used to color woodwork in Shaker homes was produced from sage blossoms, indigo and blueberry skins, combined in milk.

• The blueberry is the official berry of Nova Scotia and the official state fruit of New Jersey.

• If all of the blueberries grown in North America in a single 12 months have been unfold out in a single layer, they might cowl a four-lane freeway that stretched from New York to Chicago. (The Nice Meals Almanac)

• The daring blue coloration of the blueberry is derived from the daring excessive content material of anthocyanin. It’s a water soluble pigment that provides colours starting from blue to shades of purple.

• The blueberry is the second hottest berry within the U.S., the strawberry is primary. Over 200 million kilos of blueberries are grown commercially every year.