The blueberry is one of few fruits commonly eaten today that is native to North America and New Jersey. In addition to eating it fresh and drying or cooking it, the Native Americans picked the wild blueberries for it's color, using it as a dye, and because of it's medicinal benefits, such as relieving stomach problems. Early settlers incorporated the wild blueberry fruit as an ingredient in foods and medicines. The wild blueberry bushes are relatively small and produce small, slightly more tart berries than those found in grocery stores today. They are still found growing today in the wild, but the blueberries that New Jersey is noted for are the cultivated blueberries that are highbush hybrids -- bushes that grow ten times higher than the wild version and producing on it's upper area the larger, sweet berries now enjoyed worldwide.
The history of the development of the highbush hybrid centers in Whitesbog, Burlington County. Eliabeth Coleman White, daughter of a cranberry grower, developed the hybrid we know as the northern highbush blueberry and has since seen additional variations and improvements. Over 90% of the blueberries are grown in North America. New Jersey is the #2 producer (after Michigan) as blueberries thrive in the soil found in the Pine Barrens.
During the harvest season in New Jersey, road-side farm stands sell fresh blueberries and hordes of visitors make their annual pilgrimage to "pick your own" farms to gather enough blueberries for eating fresh and making into jams, baked goods and freezing for later use. Blueberries freeze very well and suffer little lose of quality and taste upon thawing.
Blueberry Facts and Trivia:
* North America is the world's leading blueberry producer, accounting for nearly 90% of world production at the present time. [Note: Michigan, followed by New Jersey are the leading producers of cultivated highbush blueberries; Maine, followed by some of the Canadian provinces, is the leading producer of low-bush or wild blueberries.]
* July is National Blueberry Month.
* Native Americans in the Northwest Territory smoked wild blueberries to preserve them through the winter.
* The blueberry muffin is the most popular muffin in the United States.
* Half a cup of blueberries can provide as much antioxidant power as 5 servings of other nutritious fruits and vegetables such as peas, carrots, apples, squash and broccoli.
* Native Americans used blueberries were also used in food preparation. Dried blueberries were added to stews, soups and meats. A jerky called Sautauthig (pronounced saw'-taw-teeg) was made with dried blueberries and was consumed year-round.
* New USDA research suggests that a compound in blueberries may reduce cholesterol.
* A study at Tufts University reports that a diet of blueberries may improve motor skills and reverse the short-term memory loss that comes with aging.
* USDA animal trials showed improved navigational skills after a two-month diet of blueberry extract.
* Blueberries are a good source of vitamin C, the tannins in blueberries can help prevent urinary tract infections, and ½ cup of blueberries contains only 40 calories.
* High-bush blueberries typically start producing in the third season, and yields increase steadily for the next four years. At full capacity, blueberries yield about 3 tons per acre. Well maintained blueberry bushes remain productive for at least 15 to 20 years.
* As blueberries are expensive to establish and maintain, growers often do not realize a return on their capital investment until the seventh year.
(Source: SanJaoquin County Agricultural Commission's Annual Crop Report)
Below are resource links for more information about the New Jersey blueberry:
Produce Peter - New Jersey Blueberries - "Most fruits and vegetables originated in Asia or Europe, but blueberries are strictly a North American food. Although they're grown worldwide, North America still produces 95 percent of the world's crop...Without a doubt the biggest, best, and sweetest berries come from Hammonton and Vineland, New Jersey..."
Rutgers: Blueberry Industry - Historical Overview - "New Jersey is famous for its cultivated blueberries, different from its forebears in terms of size, number of varieties and the fact they are highbush hybrids. Like its cousin the cranberry, blueberries thrive on the peculiar soil characteristics of the New Jersey Pine Barrens. This allowed development of a second agricultural cash crop in areas deemed otherwise too sour for production agriculture. Much of the credit for development of highbush blueberries in New Jersey goes to Elizabeth Coleman White, daughter of cranberry grower Joseph J. White and resident of Whitesbog near Pemberton and Browns Mills, Burlington County. Miss White, or Miss Lizzie, as she was more commonly called, devoted her life (1871-1954) to the study and breeding of blueberries."
Rutgers: A Legend from the New Jersey Pine Barrens - This One is True and It's Blue - "The wild blueberries in the New Jersey Pine Barrens had long been picked and used by Native Americans who knew that blueberries were good for relieving stomach problems1. Also called low-bush blueberries, these wild plants grow naturally on acid soils, producing fruit that is quite small on plants that only grow about a foot tall. The modern domesticated, or highbush blueberry produces bigger berries, and more of them, on a plant that grows nearly ten times taller than its wild cousin. And here is where our legend begins...".
Elizabeth Coleman White and Historic Whitesbog, Burlington County - Biography of the developer of the cultivated highbush blueberry, "The Blueberry News", "Did You Know That...?", educational activities and discussions.
Rutgers Blueberry and Cranberry Research and Extension Center: Blueberries - Origin, Early Development and Natural History - "The blueberry is one of the most recent of the major fruit crops to be brought under cultivation, having been domesticated entirely in the twentieth century. The cultivated blueberries offer a most dramatic example of the results of fruit crop breeding and selection. All blueberries were harvested from wild plants prior to the first shipment of fruit of Dr. F. V. Coville's hybrid seedlings from Miss Elizabeth White's farm at Whitesbog, New Jersey, in 1916..." Breeding, Entomology, Medicinal Research, Plant Pathology, Plant Physiology
US Highbush Blueberry Council - History of the blueberry, medical research and health benefits, resources, teacher materials, recipes and more. Lots of interesting blueberry information.
North American Blueberry Council - "The blueberry of the genus Vaccinium, is a native American species. Early settlers cherished the fruit as a staple ingredient in foods and medicines. They incorporated the berries into their diets, eating them fresh off the bush and adding them to soups, stews, and many other foods. North America is the world's leading blueberry producer, accounting for nearly 90% of world production at the present time. The North American harvest runs from mid-April through early October, with peak harvest in July which is also known as National Blueberry Month." U-Pick (Pick Your Own) Blueberry Farms - Nationwide
Wikipedia - Blueberry - Blueberries are both cultivated and picked wild. In North America the most common cultivated species is V. corymbosum, the Northern Highbush Blueberry.
Hiker's Notebook - Blueberry - Provides a good summary of the history, use and medicinal benefits of the blueberry.
The Highbush Blueberry - A New Cultivated Species - an International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS) report. (See also ISHS congress report: Berry Crop Breeding, Production and Utilization for a New Century. as well as UMassExt's Berry Notes.)
Why Blueberries Are So Popular (Michigan) - includes brief tips for blueberry use, preparation for serving and storage (freezing).
Blueberry History - An eZineArticle on the history and current use of the fruit.
New Jersey Farm Bureau - Producer Directory - select by town, produce, county.
The New Jersey Blueberry Industry Advisory Council, 7201 Weymouth Road, Hammonton, NJ 08037, Tel: (609) 561-8600, Fax: (609) 561-5033.
Visit my web site for real estate services and support: http://www.lawrenceyerkes.com/
and visit Besthomes-NJ.com to find the latest New Jersey Real Estate property listings (Residential, Commercial, Multi-Family, Farm, Land).
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