Why WILD is THE BEST:
*Antioxidant capacity – Wild blueberries contain more of the powerful antioxidant anthocyanin than any other fruit, and demonstrate greater antioxidant capacity per serving than cultivated blueberries (twice the antioxidant capacity per serving!!).
*Taste – Wild blueberries have better flavor: a more intense sweetness with a balanced tartness compared to cultivated blueberries.
*Size – Wild blueberries are naturally smaller and more compact (less water content) than cultivated blueberries, which means you get more berries per pound.
*Performance – Wild blueberries hold their shape, texture and color through a variety of baking and cooking processes; they are beautiful AND flavorful in cocktails, smoothies, salsas, sauces, baked goods, desserts, etc., etc. They also freeze very well!
Wild Blueberries = deep genetic diversity = better health and flavor
WILD: Wild blueberries are the naturally occurring low-bush blueberries that have been growing in Maine, Quebec and the Maritime Provinces for over 10,000 years. Unlike cultivated blueberries, the wild ones are not planted. They spread naturally and slowly, and today’s fields are managed to maintain healthy plants and abundant production of fruit.
DIVERSE: Wild blueberries are genetically diverse, consisting of hundreds of different naturally occurring “varieties,” or what we call clones. This deep genetic mix gives wild blueberries their unique, complex flavor (an intense sweetness and mildly pleasant tartness), as well as their amazingly rich and broad range of colors and sizes. In contrast, the cultivated high-bush blueberries are genetically narrow. Only a small number of varieties are propagated, selected and bred for traits like shelf-life and shipping quality, large size, and identical color; the cultivated berries lack variety and generally have a rather bland character and tart flavor compared to the naturally sweet and more complex wild blueberries.
MORE, BETTER: Wild blueberries give you more than twice the number of berries per pound compared with cultivated blueberries. That means your baked goods have more berries in every bite. The little wild ones also have a higher skin to pulp ratio. More skin and less water equal more antioxidant-rich pigment — and a better freezing blueberry. Cultivated blueberries are uniformly larger, delivering fewer berries per pound, and more water content. More pulp and less skin means fewer antioxidants. It also means cultivated blueberries bleed more in baking and don’t freeze as well as the wild ones.
HEALTH: Wild blueberries are true antioxidant superstars! They have twice the antioxidant capacity of cultivated blueberries, as measured by Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity. Diets containing foods with high antioxidant values such as fruits and vegetables are associated with reduced risk of many chronic diseases.
DIVERSE: Wild blueberries are genetically diverse, consisting of hundreds of different naturally occurring “varieties,” or what we call clones. This deep genetic mix gives wild blueberries their unique, complex flavor (an intense sweetness and mildly pleasant tartness), as well as their amazingly rich and broad range of colors and sizes. In contrast, the cultivated high-bush blueberries are genetically narrow. Only a small number of varieties are propagated, selected and bred for traits like shelf-life and shipping quality, large size, and identical color; the cultivated berries lack variety and generally have a rather bland character and tart flavor compared to the naturally sweet and more complex wild blueberries.
MORE, BETTER: Wild blueberries give you more than twice the number of berries per pound compared with cultivated blueberries. That means your baked goods have more berries in every bite. The little wild ones also have a higher skin to pulp ratio. More skin and less water equal more antioxidant-rich pigment — and a better freezing blueberry. Cultivated blueberries are uniformly larger, delivering fewer berries per pound, and more water content. More pulp and less skin means fewer antioxidants. It also means cultivated blueberries bleed more in baking and don’t freeze as well as the wild ones.
HEALTH: Wild blueberries are true antioxidant superstars! They have twice the antioxidant capacity of cultivated blueberries, as measured by Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity. Diets containing foods with high antioxidant values such as fruits and vegetables are associated with reduced risk of many chronic diseases.
|
|
|
About organic wild blueberries
I get asked this question all the time: “What do you mean by certified organic wild blueberries? If they’re wild, aren’t they organic?”
After more than 18 years of selling at farmers’ markets, I am ready with my 30-second sound-bite answer: “Well, the term “wild” is somewhat of a misnomer, as the wild, or low-bush, blueberry is actually very intensively managed. A more accurate term would be “native,” as this is the place on Earth where they originate, and they do grow wild in the woods around here. But the conventional wild blueberry grower relies on a huge array of herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and synthetic fertilizers in the field to produce a crop. As an organic grower, I rely on organic cultural practices but more than anything encourage a broad biodiversity in the field, both above and below the soil, to maintain healthy plants and to mitigate pest, disease and weed pressure.”
Yet, I often feel that these brief remarks do not clear the confusion or solve the mystery. But let’s face it, the wild blueberry is somewhat of an enigma, like a young rock star catapulted to worldwide fame while no one really knows anything about them and their private life....
After more than 18 years of selling at farmers’ markets, I am ready with my 30-second sound-bite answer: “Well, the term “wild” is somewhat of a misnomer, as the wild, or low-bush, blueberry is actually very intensively managed. A more accurate term would be “native,” as this is the place on Earth where they originate, and they do grow wild in the woods around here. But the conventional wild blueberry grower relies on a huge array of herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and synthetic fertilizers in the field to produce a crop. As an organic grower, I rely on organic cultural practices but more than anything encourage a broad biodiversity in the field, both above and below the soil, to maintain healthy plants and to mitigate pest, disease and weed pressure.”
Yet, I often feel that these brief remarks do not clear the confusion or solve the mystery. But let’s face it, the wild blueberry is somewhat of an enigma, like a young rock star catapulted to worldwide fame while no one really knows anything about them and their private life....