BlueBerries

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

BlueBerries are oft-touted as a ‘super-food’ and they are sometimes delicious … But  they come in many varieties, and originate from many locations !

All are not created equal.

Can anyone recommend a particular variety and/or country-of-origin ?

Thanks

MichaelG.

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi MichaelG, I guess it’s like the how long is the proverbial piece of string, as I think taste is on par with personal choice. Best growing regions of Blueberries

It’s also a bit like wine, while others say they like a particular one, myself they don’t palate so good for me.

Regards Nick.

 

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Fair comment, Nick

MichaelG.

[VicParticipant @vic]

I’ve not noticed a huge difference in taste. The bigger they are though the more expensive they seem to be.
When it comes to some other produce though there are suppliers I avoid like the plague. For instance, Spanish Strawberries and Tomatoes are often tasteless compared to English ones. I will at a push buy Dutch Tomato’s if English are unavailable. Oh, and Spanish and Portuguese Watercress is also not worth buying in my view.

Good luck in your quest Michael.

[Chris GunnParticipant @chrisgunn36534]

As a year round buyer of blueberries, I don’t think you will be able to pick and choose Michael, the supermarkets have a network of suppliers to keep the blueberries coming all year round, and on offer is the variety that the supplier in question grows, presumably chosen for the location where it is grown. At the moment Tesco are selling large size berries from Morocco, the variety is Eureka Sunrise. When the next grower is supplying the market, it will probably be a different variety. Tesco list 19 countries that supply them, but not all at the same time. That would suggest that each country would have about a 3 week season, which seems about right, and you get whatever is in season.

Chris Gunn

[Chris Gunn]

On Chris Gunn Said:

…Tesco list 19 countries that supply them, but not all at the same time…

and that is what’s wrong with the world we live in

I grow my blueberries on my allotment

without any chemicals

pick them up ready and fresh, when in season

and they taste a lot better than anything from supermarket

how can it make sense to bring fruits from (for example) Chile… madness

 

[Chris GunnParticipant @chrisgunn36534]

Chris, you get your blueberries for 3 weeks I guess, folks want them all year round. I grow my own fruit and veg as well, and enjoy it all when in season. Not everyone is so lucky as us. There are gaps between seasonal stuff though, and we will buy fruit and veg from the supermarkets, and most of it is really good. I cannot grow cauliflowers as good as I can buy.

Is it better for folks to get products from abroad, which provide employment for the locals, or go without?

Chris Gunn

[Chris KaminskiParticipant @chriskaminski64716]

In my book it is definitely better to go without.

Look around at all the obese people who stuff their faces all the year round

with food carried half way round the world on the cargo jet.

 

but, I accept that I am likely to be i  minority 🙂

anyway … back to the workshop

[Grindstone CowboyParticipant @grindstonecowboy]

Something relevant I just found on Facebook…

“To preserve blueberries, the First Nations boil them for an hour or more, until they are thick. The heat should be very low and no sugar should be used, only a little water which should be added a little at a time. When the fruits form a paste, they are placed in an envelope-shaped birch bark container and left to dry in the sun. Sometimes the berries could also be smoked.
Blueberry paste keeps for years and never loses its flavor or color. All berries can be stored in this way except strawberries.”

Anyone going to try it?

Rob

[Chris Gunn]

On Chris Gunn Said:

As a year round buyer of blueberries, I don’t think you will be able to pick and choose Michael, the supermarkets have a network […]

Chris Gunn

Thanks for that ^^^ , Chris

Curiously enough, it was a visit to Tesco that prompted my question … The rack was stacked with 400g packs of plump blueberries, all with near-identical labelling … but then I noticed that there were actually two batches there [different varieties, from different countries]

No, I didn’t buy 800g … and no, I can’t recall the details [but will photograph them if they’re still in stock when I return]

MichaelG.

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

So they are just making them into jam – relying on enough natural sugar in them.
I am currently working through frozen (well thawed) wild plums gathered from within 200yds of me. What is really annoying is that I didn’t find them before last year and have lived here for over 30 years.
Unfortunately didn’t freeze enough apples to go with my stock of blackberries and the varieties I have don’t last naturally into the new year.

[Chris Kaminski]

On Chris Kaminski Said:

On Chris Gunn Said:

…Tesco list 19 countries that supply them, but not all at the same time…

and that is what’s wrong with the world we live in

I grow my blueberries on my allotment

without any chemicals

pick them up ready and fresh, when in season

and they taste a lot better than anything from supermarket

how can it make sense to bring fruits from (for example) Chile… madness

 

Depends if your transport would be coming back empty after delivering to Chile. Bit like sending scrap or other rubbish to China for recycling, you have to get the shipping containers back there somehow as so many start out full from China.

[Chris Kaminski]

On Chris Kaminski Said:

In my book it is definitely better to go without.

Look around at all the obese people who stuff their faces all the year round

with food carried half way round the world on the cargo jet.

 

but, I accept that I am likely to be i  minority 🙂

anyway … back to the workshop

Chris, we are now a minority of two, because I would totally agree with you. Food grown on your own allotment always has a superior taste and is well worth waiting for.

We should all be eating more of what is in season here especially when we are being pressured into buying electric cars, heat pumps etc to save the planet.

Shipping highly perishable food around the world by air is absolute madness.

Back to the original question, Michael I think you would be better advised to visit your nearest allotments and ask there, but at the end of the day it down to your own taste.

Andy.

[Michael Gilligan]

On 9 March 2025 at 19:22 Michael Gilligan Said:

BlueBerries are oft-touted as a ‘super-food’ and they are sometimes delicious … But  they come in many varieties, and originate from many locations !

All are not created equal.

Can anyone recommend a particular variety and/or country-of-origin ?

Thanks

MichaelG.

The other alternative is to look on the RHS Web site and see what their recommendations are.

Andy

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

[ UPDATE ]

Since starting this thread, I have sampled a vast assortment of Blueberries from the U.K. supermarkets [most of which have disappointed]

… perm many Varieties with many Countries of Origin, etc. etc.

I’ve just had some real beauties, from Tesco !

Grown in Surrey, by people who appear to care

https://hallhunter.com

MichaelG.

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

Bit of a problem watering allotments at the moment…

But our watering has been revolutionised by this pump from Bosch that takes their standard power tool batteries.

https://www.bosch-diy.com/gb/en/garden-tools/cordless-rainwater-pumps

[Russell EberhardtParticipant @russelleberhardt48058]

Some of the best Blueberries I’ve tasted came from https://www.foix-tourisme.com/en/la-myrtille-des-pyrenees-de-la-cueillette-a-lassiette/

Malpassadou Farm is a two and a half hour drive from my home so it’s a bit far to go just for a few berries to mix with my morning muesli, so I normally just by them from the local supermarket and they come from Peru or Morocco, not quite the same.

Russell

[Bo’sunParticipant @bosun58570]

It’s quite simple.  The supermarket will buy from the cheapest source, wherever they come from.  And as Tesco says “every little helps”, to make them more money of course!

[Speedy Builder5Participant @speedybuilder5]

Read this about Blue Berries and what not to eat.

https://www.mastahteefit.com/post/never-eat-blueberries-with-these-five-foods

[VicParticipant @vic]

On a slight tangent, I read a while ago that pesticides are used more liberally on Strawberries than many other fruits, so best avoided unless you can get Organic? As a result I eat Blackberries, Blueberries and Raspberries instead and keep my fingers crossed ….

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Re: watering. A model wind pump would seem to be in order here 🙂 I think I recall one being in ME once, or at least pictures of one at an exhibition. I can’t think of any I know out in the wild these days but I remember one we went by every day on the way to school that dripped with huge icicles in the winter. My mother wisely would not stop to let me go and get some.

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