A Guide To Blueberry Types And Taste
A Guide To Blueberry Types And Taste
Blueberries are one of the most famous fruits. I’ve published a bunch of blog posts on them because they’re filled with nutrients and antioxidants. They also taste great and go well with almost any fruit salad and smoothie. When deciding which one to use you may ask, what blueberries are the sweetest? The sweetest blueberries are ones that come off the Northern or Southern Highbush. These blueberries are from the Eastern coast of the United States. The second sweetest blueberries are the legacy blueberries grown in the Northeast and across the Northern Midwest. There are different varieties of blueberry, and they can be broken down into two parts 1 . Those parts are, what bush they come from, and then what variety they are relative to that bush. That is a lot to consider so in this article, we are going to go through a taste test and guide. So, for everything you need to know, keep reading. Smoothie Tip: Adding frozen blueberries and other fruit, instead of ice, enhances the flavor and nutrient content. The secret to an easy smoothie is having a blender powerful enough to handle the workload. The blender I recommend has a 6 blade, multi-tiered blade, check it out and the current price on Amazon, Nutri Ninja BL685 with Auto-iQ Technology .
What Blueberries Are The Sweetest
If you are going out to buy some blueberries and want to increase your chances of getting the sweetest blueberries, you might be in luck 2 . It all depends on what cultivars your local store has in stock but here are some cultivars generally the sweetest. Any blueberry that comes off of the Southern or Northern Highbush will be sweeter than most other blueberries. All you have to do is check the box or packaging for a label. The label should explain where the blueberry was grown. We have a table down in the article that should help further explain this. Sometimes the packaging does not explain what bush the berry comes from but rather what cultivar it is. If this is the case, all you have to do is check which bush it comes from 3 . This leads us to our next section where we will discuss this in further detail. On the go blueberry tip: Blueberries are delicate and difficult to travel with, especially when doing activities like hiking. Did you know, they sell dried organic blueberries which are easy to pack up and bring with you anywhere? Check out these popular varieties they sell on Amazon, Organic Dried Blueberries .
What Types Of Blueberries Are There?
As mentioned above, when talking about blueberry varieties you need to consider there are a few varieties of blueberry bushes 4 . Each bush has its own variety of blueberry. You can break down the taste as per what Bush the blueberries are grown on rather than each cultivar. This is because while each cultivar is slightly different, they’re all similar if grown on the same type of bush. Before going into taste and texture, I’m going to talk a little bit about each bush. This way you’ll know what to look for when you’re going to buy blueberries or grow your own.
Blueberry Varieties: The Bush
- Highbush (Farmed).
- Lowbush (Wild).
- Rabbit Eye (Developed for hot climates).
- Half-Highbush.
Blueberry Varieties: The Berry
Humans have always found a way to adapt certain fruits and vegetables to grow in the climates they live in. For this reason, people have made different variants of the same fruit 6 . This is also true with blueberries. Remember, blueberries are very specific with regards to what time of year they grow.
Here is a list of a few of the favorite blueberry cultivars:
- Legacy blueberry.
- Bluegold blueberry
- Jersey blueberry
- Sunshine blue, blueberry
- Premier blueberry
- Powderblue blueberry
- Northsky blueberry
- Patriot blueberry
Blueberry Bush And Berry Taste Table
To make things easier, I decided to make a table that easily highlights a little bit about each bush 7 and what cultivar they can grow 8 .
| Bush | Taste | Texture | Cultivars | Climate |
| Northern Highbush |
Very Sweet | Firm | Legacy, Bluegold, Jersey |
Eastern USA |
| Southern Highbush |
Very Sweet | Firm | Elliot, Legacy, Bluegold |
Southern USA (Florida) |
| Lowbush | Mildly Sweet | Firm | Wild Blueberries | NE USA and Central Canada |
| Rabbit Eye | Mild | Firm | Premier, Powderblue, Brightwell |
SE USA |
| Half-Highbush | Sweet | Firm | Patriot, Northland | SE and NE USA |
Why Your Blueberries Are Not Sweet
There are many factors as to why your blueberry may not be sweet 9 . This is true even if the cultivar is generally considered to be a sweet cultivar or not. It’s never pleasant to look forward to eating a few blueberries only to find they have a bitter taste.
Some of these reasons include the following:
- They received little sunlight while growing.
- They are not fully ripe yet.
- They are overripe.
One of the most common reasons is not waiting for the blueberries to be fully ripe. When the blueberry has not had time to fully ripen, the acid and sugar balance is not what you want it to be.
If the blueberry is overripe, the blueberry will have a little bit of a bitter taste. This takes away from the sweetness. The longer your blueberries stay in the overripe stage, the less sweet it will become until it eventually goes bad.
As for the blueberry not receiving enough sun, this is out of your hands and generally due to the weather that the farm experienced. If you grow your own blueberries, allow the bush to receive as much sunlight as possible.
How To Tell If Your Blueberries Will Be Sweet
Sometimes you’ll be at the store and after checking where the blueberries come from, you may still be unsure if they are sweet or not. You might have to ask if you can feel or taste one. This is because all cultivars have a different color and feeling or tasting is the only way.
If you manage to feel one of them, make sure they are firm but require little force to squeeze. The skin of the blueberry should always be firm, but the inner part should be soft.
How To Sweeten Your Blueberries
If you do have the bad luck of having blueberries that are not sweet enough, there are a few things that you can do. Starting off with the most obvious first.
Your Blueberries Are Not Ripe
For this, all you have to do is ripen your blueberries. You can do this by placing them in a brown paper bag 10 and then storing them in a cupboard at room temperature for 2 to 4 days. Check out my blog post on ripening your blueberries for an extensive guide on the subject, Picked Early? A Guide to Blueberry Ripening .
If Your Blueberries Are Overripe Or Just Not Sweet Enough
For this, you could cut them in half and add a little touch of sugar to the blueberry. This obviously takes away from some of the health benefits and not typically a favorite solution, but it works.
Even better, you could also add the blueberries to a fruit salad with some cranberry juice or make a smoothie 11 . Either way, you will be adding sweetness to the blueberry while still keeping most of its health benefits.
Wrapping Up
The main goal was to help you not only know the different tastes that different cultivars of blueberries offer, but also for you to understand how to spot whether or not blueberries will be sweet.
In addition, the Highbush and Legacy blueberries seems to be the sweetest of the bunch. If you can find those at your local store, that would be great.
Read Next – More Anti-Aging Foods!
- U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council: Blueberry Varieties [↩]
- U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council: Where Blueberries Grow [↩]
- USDA: Highbush Blueberry [↩]
- ResearchGate: Blueberry production and research trends in North America [↩]
- Old Farmer’s Almanac: Growing Blueberries [↩]
- Cornell University: Blueberry Variety Review [↩]
- Rutgers: Selecting Blueberry varieties for the Home Garden [↩]
- National Center for Biotechnology Information: Breeding blueberries for a changing global environment: a review [↩]
- SFGATE: Will Blueberries Ripen if Picked Early? [↩]
- Michigan State University: Michigan Fresh: Using, Storing, and Preserving Blueberries [↩]
- Fruits and Veggies: It’s Berry Picking Time [↩]
Kevin Garce is a Certified Health Coach who encourages people by informing them on nutrition and food topics important to them. His years of research and knowledge inspire people to achieve their goals. Read more here About Me
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Kevin Garce is a Certified Health Coach who encourages people by informing them on healthy nutrition and healthy food topics important to them. His years of research and knowledge inspire people to achieve their goals. Employed in a healthcare facility, he’s worked with nutritionists and staff. The articles in this site rely on scientific studies, medical associations and professional experience.
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