Wild Blueberry Harvest Delivers Fresh Berries to Area Markets

Grocers across New England are stocking fresh Maine Wild Blueberries from this year’s harvest.

Portland, ME – Grocers across New England are stocking fresh Maine Wild Blueberries from this year’s harvest.

Wild Blueberries, available frozen year-round, are only available fresh for a short time between now and the first week of September. They can be found in select grocery stores, markets and farmers markets throughout Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts and New York City.

Lynn Thurston owns Blue Sky Produce in Phillips, Maine, and works with farmers to get fresh Wild Blueberries to market. “Fresh Wild Blueberries are available for a short time,” she says, “and I look forward to the harvest every year.” Not every blueberry is a Wild Blueberry. Many things set Wild Blueberries apart from more common cultivated blueberries:

Wild Blueberries are Maine’s official state berry.
Wild Blueberries are a special, typically smaller berry from lowbush blueberry plants that have been growing naturally in barrens and fields of Down East Maine for thousands of years. Wild Blueberry bushes can’t be transplanted, and they don’t grow many other places on Earth – only where mother nature put them.
Cultivated blueberries, also known as highbush blueberries, are typically larger berries that are planted and farmed all over the world.
The smaller Wild Blueberries have twice the antioxidant capacity as measured by ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity).
Hundreds of genetically different, naturally occurring lowbush plants give Wild Blueberries their intense sweet-tart flavor that cultivated highbush blueberries simply can’t match.

In addition to their great taste, Wild Blueberries offer a host of potential benefits when they are a regular part of a healthy diet. They are an antioxidant leader, have a low glycemic index, contain only 71 calories per one-cup serving, and are high in fiber. Recent research shows that Wild Blueberries promote good gut health, a key factor in the health of the body’s overall immune system. Many other studies over the years have pointed to the potential of Wild Blueberries to help promote healthy aging and combat a wide variety of chronic diseases relating to everything from brain health to heart health to diabetes.

Wild Blueberries are delicious eaten alone, in smoothies or in classic blueberry pies. Recipes for all occasions are available at www.wildblueberries.com/recipes.

These popular and simple pie recipes showcase the sweet, tart flavor and color of Wild Blueberries.
Easy Classic Wild Blueberry Pie – www.wildblueberries.com/recipes/pie.php
Creamy Wild Blueberry Pie – www.wildblueberries.com/recipes/creamy_pie.php
Wild Blueberry and Lemon Meringue Pie – www.wildblueberries.com/recipes/meringue_pie.php

Wild Blueberries are available fresh only for a short period during late summer, and readily available year-round in the frozen fruit section of grocery stores, frozen fresh to preserve taste, antioxidant capacity, and nutritional value.

This is a special time for New Englanders and folks in Eastern Canada and Quebec who live near the treasured Wild Blueberry growing regions, but Wild Blueberries are conveniently available year-round in the frozen fruit section of local grocery stores. In fact, 99% of this unique berry crop is individually quick frozen within 24 hours of harvest to provide a tasty and healthy treat that’s easy to enjoy year round. So even in the dead of winter while the unique Wild Blueberry plants sleep under a blanket of Maine snow, it’s possible to enjoy Wild Blueberries in a pie or breakfast smoothie as if summer harvest was in full swing.