It seems to me that blueberries last longer in the fridge than they used to. And we used to get the occasional moldy berry--I don't think I've seen one all this summer. Does anyone know why--have they changed the processing? (Not that I'm complaining!)

I was always under the impression that the gonzo sized blueberries came from Maine. I don't know why I thought that. And, Dahlink, I agree, no trouble with mold this year (not that I'm complaining either!)

I always pick up extra when they're really inexpensive and freeze as much as I can for the dead of winter.

I have the fresh blueberries most weekday mornings with Greek-style yogurt and a sprinkling of Kashi Heart to Heart Oat & Blueberry Cluster cereal.

Weekends are for anything with bacon!

I thought the size difference was based on rather the blueberry was wild or not. Aren't the wild ones smaller?

As for the northern argument, I guess I could see that as well. Aren't Alaskan vegetables sized in epic proportions due to all the summer sunlight?

I've never quite figured out the difference between blueberries and huckleberries. But I have fond memories of going to summer camp in the Berkshires when I was a kid. Wednesday was hike day and we'd stroll along, picking the wild huckleberries that grew by the side of the road, sometimes by the bucketful. They went great with the three sandwiches wrapped in wax paper that were our weekly Wednesday bill of fare -- peanut butter and jelly, tuna salad and processed mystery meat.

I bought two pounds of blueberries almost two weeks ago and was astounished when I checked the last berries in the container yesterday and they were still edible. No mold.

I bought two pounds of blueberries almost two weeks ago and was astounished when I checked the last berries in the container yesterday and they were still edible. No mold.

Berries of any kind are a gift from the heavens.

I wonder how many visitors to the Sandbox will have to google Angela Davis. This reminds me of the annual list from Beloit College in Wisconsin wherein faculty and students alike are reminded what this year's incoming freshman know within their lifetimes (the freshman this year were born in 1990). Check out this year's list here ... http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/

We picked about 5 pounds of blueberries at Larriland farms on Saturday. I wasn't expecting them to be available because they aren't at the market any more, but they still had quite a bit. They are amazing, though rather small. About two-thirds went into the freezer and I'm using the rest in assorted baked goods and well, as-is for snacking. Also picked raspberries, blackberries, peaches and tomatoes, all wonderful. It was my first time at a U-pick place and I can't wait to go back for the raspberries alone. YUM.

We've noticed that the blueberries sold in supermarkets in PBC [read: Publix] tend to be small while those available at Costco are ginormous. Because of the package size, we, too, frequently freeze some of them before they go bad.

And who knew blueberries can be kept as long as 10 days (they never last that long in our house) while raspberries should be used within a day?

How can this be? If Driscolls raspberries are grown elsewhere, shipped to northern California, packaged, then shipped to my grocery store, how can they "be used within a day"? Even if the "within a day" timeframe accounts for all the shipping time, the supply chain process can't be so exact as to leave just one day for consumption at the end...

Just came back from Maine where we picked loads of blueberries while hiking. The blueberries in Maine are smaller than what we see around here and are the low bush variety.

Are the 'big' berries that we get locally from the high bush variety of plant? Coincidentally, I just had local blueberries for breakfast that I had cleaned and frozen before heading off on vacation. Super good and so much better than the processed frozen fruit.

We're still getting fresh blueberries from an organic orchard in Darlington at the Bel Air farmers market. They are very happy to have them, since their stone fruits did not do well this summer.

The shocker, however, was that a grower from York showed up with fresh strawberries. The kid on that side of the table swore they were their own, a new variety that is late producing and tolerant of heat. I was dubious, but folks who bought them said they were better than fair.

Blueberries are so good in so many ways! Love blueberry pancakes, blueberry pie, blueberry syrup (homemade of course) for pancakes or french toast, blueberry poundcake, blueberry short cake, blueberries in yogurt, blueberries in cereal... just call me Joyce Gump

The bloom ...

I speculate that the bloom is an excellent thing, so don't wash your blueberries until you eat them. (By the end of this word-spew the logical conclusion would to never wash any produce until you use it, which makes me wary of those autmoatic produce spritzers in the supermarket) It is probably the residue from naturally occurring lactobacillus. All fruits and vegetables are covered with it. It is the stuff that turns milk into yogurt, cabbage into sauerkraut, and is essential in all other naturally fermented products (kimchi, pickled beets, herring(!), etc.). It lives off of sugar, especially lactose. In yogurt it turns lactose into lactic acid, which gives it its tang and the increased acidity unravels the tightly wound protein molecules to make it thicker. Cool. Lactobacilli are awesome for your digestion too, because they inhibit the growth of bad micro-organisms in your intestines. And once they are a presence in sterile milk, they prevent harmful bacteria from taking up residence while it is yogurtizing.

So to make a long story short, the bloom (dead bacteria) is probably evidence that friendly bacteria are keeping the bad bacteria away.

N.B. Most traditionally pickled products sold in supermarkets are an abomination, made unnaturally by adding vinegar (acetic acid) and salt and have no therapeutic digestive capacity. If it has vinegar in it, it's fake. Sauerkraut ingredients should only be cabbage, water and salt. The bags of kraut near the pork loins and the pricey jars are all fake. Weirdly, Libby's and Giant sauerkraut in a can is the real deal. Some of the jars and refrigerated bags list ingredients as sauerkraut, etc which means you don't know what's in it. If it has preservatives, it's fake, because the lactobacilli/lactic acid ARE the natural preservatives.

In short, the bloom is not mold.

Growing up my neighbor had blueberry bushes. Every once in a while, I'd sneak over, pick some and have delicious blueberry pancakes for breakfast.

I don't like the big blueberries or strawberries. They don't have as much flavor as the smaller ones. I also read that organic blueberries are significantly smaller (and have more antioxidants), which seems like a good thing because they should have more flavor. As for anti-oxidants, I assume they are all in the skin, so a smaller berry would have more AOs because of the greater surface area to volume ratio. Right? Buzzzz ... the dryer is done. Time to fold.

Joyce W. Gump, have you tried banana-blueberry bread? That's our family favorite this time of year. I'd be glad to send you the recipe, which is a family heirloom.

Blueberry pickles? Huh?

I hate the evil produce-spritzer devices at modern supermarkets.

The evil produce spritzers aren't just at supermarkets. The tired, picked last week or the week before produce I get from my CSA is still dripping when I pick it up.

What I really hate is dripping onions, potatoes, etc. in plastic bags that have been tied shut. Put that in the sun for a few hours, and you have instant compost.

Dahlink - I would LOVE to have your recipe. I like to bake when I have time and it sounds delish!

Hal (and Owl) I'm with you on the evil spritzer things!

No blueberry pickles. The white dust on the surface of the blueberries is probably good bacteria dust. IF you wanted to make blueberry pickles, i.e., preserve them for the winter you could do it. I did it with tiny plums last fall and they kept in my refrigerator for months in a jar. They stay nice and crisp. Some of the sugar is converted to lactic acid so it has a little tang too. Fruit, water, a little salt maybe, and some lactic acid starter, put in a ziploc bag at room temp for a day and then refrigerate. Old country style.

I am amused when some containers are labelled "Bluets". Is that the French name or French-Canadian?

terriermom,
I think that is French-Canadian thing. But then it could be French, since they swore off using "American" words for common stuff.
Sacre bleu!
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The blueberries down here come from Orlando mostly and are rather small. Since they have a slightly bitter taste (to me), I'm glad that they are small. And they certainly have that bloom that Owl Meat so eloquently described for us.

OMG, that is a fascinating way of preserving fruit. Never occurred to me. I might have to try it.

I have been outta the loop for a few weeks since I was traveling New England- as for Blueberries while we were in Maine we had plenty of Wild Main Blueberries and yes the size is much smaller and not as tart.

Joyce W. (Gump), try this easy, fabulous blueberry dessert: Rinse some blues, sprinkle w/ brown sugar to taste and macerate in the fridge for an hour or so. Spoon into dessert bowls and top each serving with a dollop of sour cream. Mmmmm GOOD! Works with peaches, too. My work here is done.

I bet Joyce W knows who Angela Davis is without having to google. And so very cool that our EL does too. Girl power!

I'm thinking there are several of us who remember Angela Davis. There is a coalition of groups, who have banded together to protest at the DNC, calling themselves "Re-create 68." I had to explain to nearly everyone I work with what that meant.

I'm getting old.

Cheers to you Bourbon Girl! I certainly do know who Angela Davis is. I also recall Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem and without going all political (after all it is a food blog), I wonder where the "voice" of women is these days?

Dottie, that sounds heavenly. I sure will try it. And, will try Owl's preservation method as well.

Remember Angela Davis? I've voted for her.

I didn't get to wear pants to school until 1971. Until then we had to wear skirts. Even in 1971 we could only wear pant suits (remember those lovely polyester pant suits?). In 1972 they finally broke down, admitted that hippies were real, and we could wear our flannel shirts and jeans.
And, to add insult to injury, when we met with our guidance counselors and took those stupid vocational tests, we were advised to become teachers, nurses or secretaries.
My 20 year-old daughter thinks I lived in the dinosaur age, and doesn't have any idea how good she's got it!

Susan, you must be about my age. I remember all that too (shudder - the polyester pants suits!). When my 16 y.o. was around 3, he asked me if we had some kind of computer program when I was his age. I laughed and told him, I didn't even have a color tv or air conditioning until I was in junior high school (another foreign notion - they now have middle school). And, yes, I remember the teacher, nurse or secretary choice we were given!

Susan WNAJ, that truly is outrageous. It's hard for young women to understand that not that long ago girls were forced to wear skirts to school, rain, sleet, snow or locusts.

As for the so-called guidance counselors, puh! They were ridiculous. I would hope that present day guidance counselors are better informed. Young women have so many more options: Stewardess, sorry, flight attendant, game show model holding a briefcase, celebu-tart, club friend of celebutard, girlfriend of celebrity, prostitute cum singer, or American Idol contestant. Live the dream.

"I wonder where the "voice" of women is these days?" - I quote myself, as I say re: RevEd, i rest my case...

Joyce, I'm still trying to figure out when 'feminism' became a bad word. Then again, I've never understood judging folks on gender (or lack thereof) rather than ability.

Besides, who wants a voice. I want a chorus!

SWNAJ - the skirt battle is not over. When I was applying for judicial clerkships about 10 years ago, I heard that a certain judge would not allow his female clerks to wear pants.

Earlier, in my "Women in Law" seminar in law school, we had a guest speaker who was the first female administrative judge of a certain court. There was an issue with certain judges in her court requiring female attorneys to wear skirt suits in their courtrooms.

We had to submit written questions in advance, and my question was, what was she going to do about male judges requiring that female attorneys wear skirts in their courtrooms? She responded by saying that she would inquire of each judge what the dress requirements were and then pass it on to the Women's Bar Association so that we would know what to do. Really.

I am not by any means an in-your-face feminist or especially a feminazi (sp?) but male judges like that should be disbarred and removed from their judgeships.
Women can fulfill professional dress requirements in a pant suit (not polyester) or pants/blazer combination.
To those male neanderthals:
:-P

My friend is an assistant prosecuting attorney and cannot wear pants in the courtroom.

It kills me that this is a requirement in the year 2008.

Lissa, I'm with you. I've checked the listings of blogs on the Sun, and unless I'm missing something, there are no consciousness, awareness, feminist, (etc) such blogs. I'm too computer illiterate or I'd start one. If someone else should do so (or if anyone knows of some good ones) I'd be a glad participant.

And, as a nod to the original thread, would like to mention that I tried Dottie's blueberry dessert last night, and it rocks!

Aye, and in a Scottish court it's probably the men who canna' wear pants. : )

Honestly, as a man of the ancient persuasion, I still can't understand why this gender-based dressing still exists, especially in the courts, where the law is supposed to be revered. Like a tee shirt I saw with a drawing of a young cow with lipstick and high heels with the caption "High heels make your calves look prettier."

Retired in Elkridge, you made me chuckle. I just started re-watching "Centennial" (now out on DVD) last night and the beginning of your post sounded like Alexander McKeeg.

Those interested in the dress code issue may also wish to read this article, concerning a woman who was jailed for wearing short shorts to court. (The judge in question was also a woman.)

While I have no problem with attorneys of either sex wearing pants in court, I'm dismayed about the disappearance of baseline standards in attire over the year. It's one thing to wear a tight skirt and stiletto heels to Power Plant Live; it's another thing to be dressed that way when visiting a funeral home. I'm not saying that we should go back to the days when one wouldn't board a plane without coat-and-tie (or hat-and-gloves), but there are some place where not everything goes.

I've been in tropical countries where you are not allowed to enter government buildings in shorts. Men or women. Bummer. I had some stylin' trop togs working for me!