Recipes Archives - Page 14 of 27

Top 10 Smoothie Nutrition Boosters

There are three big reasons why I love smoothies. First and foremost, they’re easy to make – in less than five minutes you can have a healthy breakfast or snack. They’re also portable – you can easily take one with you to work or to run errands. And last but not least, they can pack in a LOT of nutrition.

We all like value, right? We look for the best deals and bargains because we want to make sure we’re getting the best bang for our buck, so to speak. Well, why should smoothies be any different? If you’re going to take the time to make a smoothie, don’t you want it to be packed with the most nutrition possible?
Try these top 10 nutrition boosters in your next smoothie for the best blend for your buck!

Top 10 Smoothie Nutrition Boosters:

Baby spinach

What It Adds: Fiber, vitamins A and C, folate, iron and magnesium

Why It’s Important: Dark, leafy greens like baby spinach help keep you full, provide you with chronic disease-fighting antioxidants, and pack in a vegetarian-friendly source of iron.

Perfect Pairings: Tropical fruits like pineapple, mango, orange and banana will mask the taste of the spinach.

Avocados

What It Adds: Monounsaturated (good) fat, fiber, potassium, vitamin E, B-vitamins and folic acid

Why It’s Important: Good fats contribute to satiety and energy and help increase absorption of fat-soluble nutrients like vitamins A, D, E and K.

Perfect Pairings: Just about any fruit! Add ½ avocado with your frozen fruit of choice to add creaminess to your smoothie.

Flax

What It Adds: Fiber, omega-3 fatty acids and lignans (a type of antioxidant)

Why It’s Important: Omega-3s help keep your heart healthy and fiber helps keep your digestive system regular.

Perfect Pairings: Anything! Flaxseed should blend seamlessly with any flavor combo.

Hemp

What It Adds: Protein, fiber, omega-3s, magnesium and vitamin E

Why It’s Important: Great source of omega-3s and complete protein (all 9 essential amino acids) for vegetarians.

Perfect Pairings: Like flaxseed, hemp seeds will blend with just about anything!

Wild Blueberries

What It Adds: Antioxidants, fiber and manganese

Why It’s Important: Wild Blueberries contain 2x the antioxidants and more fiber than regular, cultivated blueberries. They also contain 200% of the daily value for manganese (8x that of regular blueberries), which is important for bone development. Antioxidants help protect your cells from free radicals, which can increase your susceptibility to chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer.

Perfect Pairings: Wild Blueberries have a more intense blueberry flavor than regular blueberries. Their extraordinary flavor combination of tart and sweet will pair with just about any ingredient.

Kid Friendly Wild Blueberry Oat Smoothie

Oats

What It Adds: Fiber (beta glucans), iron, magnesium, B vitamins and calcium

Why It’s Important: Studies have shown that beta glucans may help improve blood glucose control, insulin resistance and cholesterol levels.

Perfect Pairings: Any fruits but especially berries and bananas, and dairy (milk, yogurt, kefir) or non-dairy alternative

Cacao Nibs

What It Adds: Antioxidants

Why It’s Important: Cacao nibs are made from breaking up cacao beans into smaller pieces, so it’s the most pure form of antioxidant-packed cacao (chocolate) out there.

Perfect Pairings: Cacao nibs are bitter so pair with cacao powder and/or bananas or dates for extra sweetness. Cacao also pairs brilliantly with nut butters like peanut butter.

Silken tofu

What It Adds: Protein, iron and calcium

Why It’s Important: Great vegetarian source of protein and iron. Plus, protein helps keep you full!

Perfect Pairings: Anything! Silken tofu adds creaminess to any flavor profile.

Kefir

What It Adds: Protein, calcium and probiotics

Why It’s Important: Probiotics are good-for-your-gut bacteria that help keep your digestive system and immune system healthy.

Perfect Pairings: Any ingredients! Kefir will add a rich and creamy texture to any smoothie combo.

Almond Butter

What It Adds: Protein, fiber, monounsaturated (good) fat, magnesium, manganese, vitamin E, copper, phosphorous and riboflavin

Why It’s Important: Its protein, fiber and fat combo helps keep you feeling satiated and energized.

Perfect Pairings: Just about any ingredients but especially pairs well with oats, berries, bananas and cacao.

If you find yourself feeling a little skeptical after glancing at the list above, I’m here to reassure you that you can barely taste these ingredients when paired correctly. Most of them will blend in seamlessly and you and your loved ones won’t even know the difference! Try adding some of these nutrition boosters to your next smoothie. Remember, you want the best blend for your buck!

Speaking of nutrition boosters, try my latest Wild Blueberry smoothie that’s packed with oats! This one is kid-friendly, too, so the whole family can enjoy it. It’s sweet and refreshing thanks to the Wild Blueberries and citrus and totally creamy and satisfying because of the oats and yogurt.

Wild Blueberry Toast – Easy Valentine’s Day Breakfast Recipe

A few years after my daughter was born, my husband started a tradition. Every year for Valentine’s Day he would buy us matching necklaces. Over the years my daughter and I have received some beautiful pieces. Norah and I can’t wait to open those little boxes on February 14th. It’s become a really fun tradition in our family.

In return for his loving generosity, we make him breakfast in bed. It usually includes something Norah and I can make together. French toast and pancakes are regular features, but we’ve made a few smoothies and even an omelet one year! This year we are surprising him with heart-shaped Coconut Peanut Butter Wild Blueberry Toast.

My husband is quite the Wild Blueberry connoisseur. Over the last year he has been lead taste-tester for all of my Wild Blueberry recipes. Because of this, he has become a huge Wild Blueberry fan. He eats at least a handful of them every day, whether in his protein shake before the gym, stirred into a bowl of warm oatmeal, or as a flavorful add-in to his famous protein pancakes. Frozen Wild Blueberries are perfect for adding intense, sweetly unique blueberry flavor to many a favorite dish. He loves the boost of robust Wild Blueberry flavor and I love that he gets a potent burst of nutrition!

My Coconut Peanut Butter Wild Blueberry Toast is a play on your old-school PBJ! Creamy peanut butter is mixed with frozen Wild Blueberries, shredded coconut, vanilla, and a touch of honey. I slathered this delicious nut-butter and Wild Blueberry mixture onto 4 pieces of toasted heart-shaped bread. You can use any type of bread your sweetie likes. I could not resist using a homemade loaf I found called “seduction.” Perfect for Valentine’s day, right?

The intense purple color of the nut butter mixture is just gorgeous and brightens up the plate. It’s the perfect combination of beauty and flavor! My heart-shaped toast will be a fun departure from the norm this year. Although he wasn’t able to be my taste tester for this recipe, I’m sure he will love it just the same…and so will we!

8 Tips to Build the Perfect Smoothie + Wild Blueberry Immune-Boosting Smoothie Recipe

Now that we’re well into January, we’re all holding on tightly to those New Year’s resolutions we set at the beginning of the month. And if your resolution was to eat healthier, you’re probably searching for easy ways to pack more nutrition into your day.

Search no more, my friends. Grab yourself a smoothie.

Smoothies are a simple way to add more healthy foods like fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and probiotic-rich dairy into your diet. They’re no fuss, require minimal prep and are ready to drink in less than five minutes. A nutritious meal that takes no time to make? Sign me up! Plus, you can drink a smoothie morning, noon, or night with no judgments. There’s a smoothie for every occasion whether it be breakfast, a snack, or even dessert (yes, you can totally add cocoa powder to your smoothies)!

While smoothie making is a fun, creative process in which pretty much anything goes, there is some rhyme and reason to it. There are some tricks of the smoothie-making trade to make sure you’re sipping on the tastiest, creamiest, healthiest, most refreshing smoothie. And it all comes down to ingredients. Making sure you have the right balance and the right order. Have you ever added all your smoothie ingredients to a blender only to press pulse and nothing happens except for an awfully loud noise indicating your blender is not amused? Yep, we’ve all been there (the blender struggle is real). Not to worry, those blender woes can be remedied by a simple tutorial on how to build the perfect smoothie.

Liquid First: Adding liquid first makes things easier on the blender and you’ll find your ingredients blend faster and more efficiently. Try milk, kefir, coconut milk, or almond milk for a creamier consistency. Use coconut water, herbal or green tea, iced coffee, juice, or water for a refreshing twist. Not sure how much to add? Typically ¾ cup liquid for 2 cups of ingredients is a good starting point. Remember, you can always add more liquid later but you can’t remove it once it’s blended in.
Sprinkles Come Next. No, not rainbow sprinkles. But the sprinkles of powders, seeds, sweeteners, spices, extracts, zests, etc. that add flavor and nutrition boosts to your smoothie. This way they’ll blend seamlessly with the liquid and the rest of your beverage.
Hail the Hard Stuff. After your sprinkles come your hard foods – think frozen fruits like Wild Blueberries, vegetables and nuts and The stuff your blender is going to work extra hard on. You want to position these close to the bottom so they can easily come in contact with the blade.
Be a Softie. Now it’s time to embrace your inner softie and add your softer foods like fresh fruits and vegetables.
Crazy for Creamy. In my opinion, there’s nothing better than a creamy, rich tasting smoothie. Side by side with your soft produce, add in any creamy ingredients that will impart a thicker texture to your drink. Not sure what add-ins create creamy? Try avocados, Greek yogurt, kefir, canned coconut milk, silken tofu, nuts and nut butters, bananas and oatmeal.
Get Your Green On. Trying on green smoothies for size? Green smoothies are an easy way to get your greens on and the fruit masks their bitterness so you won’t even taste them! Add leafy greens like kale, chard, spinach, or arugula for a one-two nutritional punch!
Ice, Ice, Baby. Last but not least, top it off with a little ice, if needed. I only add ice if I’m using fresh fruits and not frozen. This is one of the reasons why I love using Wild Blueberries. They are the perfect smoothie ingredient to keep your smoothies cold because 99% of the Wild Blueberry crop is frozen within 24 hours of harvest, which locks in their nutrition and taste. If you use frozen fruits and your smoothie still isn’t cold enough for your liking, you can always add ice after you blend all the ingredients together.
Blend Away! Start your blender on the lowest setting and wait until those big pieces of frozen produce start to break up before you gradually increase to the highest speed. This will help your blender blend more efficiently and will prevent your blender from spinning its blades on nothing but air!

Wild Blueberry Immune-Boosting Tropical Smoothie

Now that you’re a blender pro, how about putting these tips into practice with a refreshing smoothie recipe that’s perfect for the winter months. My Wild Blueberry Tropical Immune-Boosting Smoothie is packed with vitamin C-boasting citrus, sweet, refreshing pineapple, warming, soothing ginger, and electrolyte-loaded coconut water. It’s totally refreshing and sweet with a hint of spiciness from the ginger! Wild your smoothie with this delicious recipe and at the same time ward off the cold and flu this season.

Low Sugar, High Protein Wild Blueberry Breakfast Smoothie

Smoothies are a huge part of life at my house. We drink them like water! We’re mostly creatures of habit, sticking to our favorite blends, but we’ve tried just about every combination possible.

Creamy Wild Blueberry Breakfast Smoothie

My template for the perfect smoothie is this: fruit + greens + fat + protein + liquid. All of these components play a vital role in controlling appetite, especially when you’re using a smoothie as a meal replacement.

In addition to providing antioxidants and other powerful nutrients, the fruit and greens provide fiber, which delivers bulk and helps slows down digestion. Baby spinach is a great add-in to any smoothie, as the flavor is so mild you won’t even know it’s there. The fat source also slows down digestion by regulating how fast the stomach empties its contents into the intestines. Great natural fat sources include: nuts and nut butters, avocado, chia or flax seeds, and coconut oil. I rely on both fat and fiber to keep me satisfied until my next meal.

Protein also plays a role in how full I feel, but in a slightly different way. I like to think of protein as having the “done” factor. Protein tells my brain that I’m finished eating, I’m satisfied, and that I don’t need to eat again for a few hours. As a Dietitian, we have a name for this. It’s called satiety. Satiety from the protein determines how long it will be before you’re hungry again. Satiation from the fiber and fat helps you feel full during your meal, helping to slow you down.

Many of my clients tell me they are hungry shortly after a smoothie. Upon further investigation I usually find that the smoothie was nothing more than fruit and some kind of low calorie liquid. This is not enough to provide satiety or satiation!

Some great natural protein add-ins are: Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, raw almonds, organic tofu, or hemp seeds.

This tasty, low sugar smoothie recipe utilizes the staying power of frozen fresh Wild Blueberries. Since I don’t like to add too much fruit to my smoothies, I like to get the biggest nutrient bang I can. Wild Blueberries are not only full of delicious berry flavor, they are the antioxidant leader. They are especially rich in anthocyanin, a potent antioxidant flavonoid found in highly concentrated amounts in Wild Blueberries. Anthocyanin is responsible for both the berry’s deep-blue color and its powerful health protection.

I also love that Wild Blueberries are found in the frozen food aisle, as this lessens the need to add ice to your smoothie, which may dilute the flavor.

This smoothie has it all:

Fiber, flavor, and tons of nutrients from the spinach, banana and Wild Blueberries
Fat and staying power from the avocado
Natural protein from the hemp seeds
Creamy delicious-ness from the coconut milk
Natural sugar from the dates

Ring in the New Year with a Wild Blueberry Detox Smoothie

The Christmas cookies have come and gone. The green bean casserole has been put to rest. It’s high time for a little detox bevvie–and we’re not talking New Year’s bubbly!

We all know that smoothies are a superb way to sneak in all kinds of superfoods, from vitamin K-rich kale, anti-cancer turmeric, and our favorite fiberlicious Wild Blueberries. They’re the ideal on-the-go burst of nutrition that can very well satisfy the taste buds at the same time.

January marks the beginning of the New Year, meaning everyone is discussing the detox. After the holiday season, it’s a good time to rid the body of excess toxins found in sugar, alcohol, and fried foods. Detoxing simply means to cleanse the body of the unhealthy, highly processed foods that we gorged on in December by eating and/or drinking lots of nutrient-rich fruits and veggies.

Embracing a healthier lifestyle as you ring in the New Year doesn’t mean you have to say goodbye to cookies forever. By enriching your life with simple antioxidant-packed superfoods like Wild Blueberries, avocado, turmeric, and kale, you’re giving your liver a break and boosting your physical and mental health.

Let’s talk ingredients! While black pepper in a fruit smoothie may sound like a prank, it actually adds a deliciously unexpected kick to this Wild Blueberry Detox Smoothie. Flavor aside, the real reason black pepper plays a starring role in this healthy beverage is because adding a pinch boosts the bioavailability of curcumin (the bioactive compound in turmeric) by more than tenfold. Consuming tumeric with fat also helps boosts absorption, hence…avocado!

Rewind. Why do we care about boosting curcumin levels? Several studies suggest that curcumin is a potent fighter of cancer, inflammation, osteoporosis, and more. Turmeric is a true superfood!

So trade in the bubbly for wild blueberries and kick off the New Year right with this scrumptious glass of liquid nutrition. Your liver will surely thank you!

7 Fan-Favorite Wild Blueberry Recipes

As the year comes to a close and we think back to all the amazing travel, work, entertaining and eating we have accomplished here in the land of the Wild Blueberry, we thought it would be fun to reveal which recipes you enjoyed the most in 2015. In all, we shared over 100 original Wild Blueberry recipes over the last 12 months, all written by an incredible group of food writers, cookbook authors, and registered dietitians from around the country. Following are the top seven most shared, liked, and talked about recipes of 2015. From the top:

1. Wild Blueberry Twice Baked Sweet Potato

With an astounding 9,168 likes, comments, and shares, this Wild Blueberry Twice Baked Sweet Potato was the runaway winner in 2015. And it’s no wonder. Created by Danielle Omar, a leading registered dietitian, clean-eating coach, teacher and cookbook author, Danielle is a passionate food and nutrition educator.

2. Wild Blueberry Scone

Second place goes to this beautiful Wild Blueberry Scone recipe created by Anne Mauney, a Washington, D.C. based registered dietitian and author of the fitness blog fANNEtastic food. We love the pretty heart shape of this scone!

3. Creamy Wild Blueberry Pie

This vibrant Creamy Wild Blueberry Pie was the third pick of readers. Filled with deliciously intense blueberry flavor, it packs twice the antioxidants of a regular blueberry pie. This one was made in the Wild Blueberry test kitchen.

4. Maine Wild Blueberry Pie

This post surged in popularity because it revealed a #1 easy trick that professional bakers use for the best blueberry pies. It also shared the recipe for Maine Blueberry Pie, developed by a hot Portland bakery called Two Fat Cats.

5. Wild Blueberry Baked Doughnuts

Who doesn’t love a yummy doughnut? This hugely popular recipe for Wild Blueberry Baked Doughnuts was adapted from a King Arthur Flour recipe by Rebecca Crump, a Nashville-based blogger and food writer. It’s sure to please all.

6. Wild Blueberry Sunshine Smoothie

It’s no surprise that two finalists for our best 2015 recipes were in the smoothie category. Frozen Wild Blueberries are simply a perfect ingredient for any smoothie. This Wild Blueberry Sunshine Smoothie uses coconut water, orange juice lime and Wild Blueberries, and was developed by Rebecca Crump, a Nashville-based writer and food blogger.

7. Wild Blueberry Recovery Smoothie
Last but not least, this dazzling Wild Blueberry Recovery Smoothie was developed by registered dietitian, author, and athlete Anne Mauney. She says it’s a great way to refuel after an energetic workout.

Our 2015 top recipes reveal what we suspected. Our readers love using frozen Wild Blueberries in a variety of ways – everything from pies to breakfast goodies and savory dishes to smoothies. With exceptional flavor, color and nutritional value, we can’t think of a better way to support a healthy vibrant lifestyle in 2016 than to keep a good supply of frozen berries in your freezer.

Happy New Year!

Quick & Easy Wild Blueberry Stuffed French Toast

If you’re expecting a house full of company for the holidays and you need a delicious easy-to-make breakfast then try this amazing Wild Blueberry Stuffed French Toast from our friends at Stonewall Kitchen. It’s truly tasty and requires only a few basic ingredients. Plus, it takes just a few minutes to make and can be prepared the day before so you can spend more time visiting than cooking. It’s a great choice for Christmas or New Year’s Eve.

There are two heroes in this recipe – frozen fresh Wild Blueberries and Stonewall Kitchen’s Wild Maine Blueberry Jam. Here in Maine, we love to eat our Wild Blueberries all year long. Wild Blueberries are nutritious, delicious, and an essential freezer staple that you can grab any day of the week.

To see Stonewall Kitchen Recipe Developer Kim Gallagher whip up this quick and easy Wild Blueberry Stuffed French Toast, watch our video. Here’s the complete recipe, too!

Wild Blueberries Cookies: The Perfect DIY Holiday Gift

My sister and I have a great tradition of getting together each year to make homemade holiday gifts. We started doing this back when we were in our 20’s as a way to give gifts to friends and neighbors without spending a fortune. You can imagine the stories we have to tell! The success stories are as epic as the fails, and there have certainly been many. Even so, as I look back, I am kind of impressed at our often times lofty ambitions. We have dabbled in caramel and candy making, fudge, almond Roca, and rugelach. We have even gone down the flavored salt road a few times.

Of course we’ve made our fair share of cookies, too. From chunky chocolate chip to crispy lemon wafers, to frosted gingerbread men…we’ve done it all. I’ve written about my sister’s mad baking skills before so you may have already figured out that I’m not the lead baker in our duo. I am typically the decision maker, however during actual cook time I am the happy assistant, largely just doing what I am told.

This year, we added a new baker to our group. Old enough now to want to help and excited to measure and pour, Norah happily donned her apron and joined in on the fun.

I have added Wild Blueberries to many a dish in the last year, but cookies I had not yet tried. This year, I decided to experiment with an all-time favorite of mine: the molasses cookie. I figured adding Wild Blueberries to an already soft cookie would make it even more moist and delicious. I was right!

These Molasses Cookies are spicy and delicious with a Wild Blueberry twist! The Wild Blueberries add a zesty flavor that complements the ginger and molasses just right.

Using frozen Wild Blueberries is really what made this recipe work. Adding them into the mix while still frozen prevented the already brown dough from turning purple, and enabled the berries to remain whole in the cookies, which was the exact result I was after. This way I get a whole Wild Blueberry with every bite.

Using Wild Blueberries in your holiday baking not only adds moisture to your cookie, it also adds a dose of heart healthy nutrients. Studies show that Wild Blueberries contain important nutrients that may help reduce chronic inflammation and improve cholesterol levels.

I really enjoyed adding Wild Blueberries to my favorite holiday cookie! Here are a few more ways to use Wild Blueberries in your own holiday baking:

Replace half the sugar in a recipe with Wild Blueberries
Replace Wild Blueberries for regular blueberries and get twice the antioxidant punch
Replace the butter or oil in a recipe with pureed Wild Blueberries (this works best when you use half as much of the Wild Blueberry puree as the total amount of fat called in the recipe)
Replace Wild Blueberries for canned fruit in a recipe
Use pureed Wild Blueberries for syrup or glaze when topping cookies, pancakes, and other baked goods

Wild Blueberry Blast Smoothie Bowls to Keep You Energized Through the Holidays

If pretty food photos like this one for a Wild Blueberry Blast Smoothie Bowl whet your appetite and inspire you to try new recipes, then you’re probably grabbing your blender right now!

Smoothie bowls are different from traditional smoothies because they’re thicker. So instead of sipping them with a straw from a glass, you scoop them with a spoon from a bowl. And they also provide the perfect canvas for colorful toppings. We love them in the morning as a nutritious breakfast or in the afternoon for a pick-me-up snack. When antioxidant-rich Wild Blueberries are blended into the mix and added as a topper, we love them even more.

With the holiday season in full swing and schedules running tight, a plain bowl of cereal for breakfast or pretzels for snack just doesn’t cut it. That’s where easy-to-make smoothie bowls like this one come in. Our Wild Blueberry Bowl provides a blast of energy to keep you revved up on busy days. Each serving has 90% of your daily requirement of vitamin C, a known immune booster that we especially appreciate during cold and flu season.

Smoothie bowls are versatile. Some of our favorite blender ingredients include milk, juice, fruit (fresh or frozen), Greek yogurt, nut butters, and chia seeds, and for the toppings, we turn to nutrient-rich ingredients like frozen Wild Blueberries, sliced fruit, granola, nuts, hemp seeds, and Graham crackers. Anything goes!

The Year of Smoothie Bowls and Coloring Books

This has been the year of the smoothie bowl, thanks in part to social network sites like Instagram, where pretty pictures and “food porn” reign supreme. And interestingly, there has also been a boon in adult-centric coloring books, which offer everyone from busy singles to on-the-go moms a creative way to de-stress and tap into their inner child! Peruse your local bookshop for Mandala coloring books and you’ll see what we mean.

So what do smoothie bowls and coloring books have in common? Well, actually nothing…until now. This week, we released a first-of-its kind coloring cookbook. That’s right. If you visit our website, you can download our brand new, Smoothie Bowl Coloring Cookbook. The book is designed for adults (but it’s kid-friendly too), and as you look through its pages, you’ll have access to 10 nutritious smoothie bowl recipes (including our Wild Blueberry Blast Smoothie Bowl) and 10 corresponding Mandala-style food designs.

We welcome you to stop by and check out the coloring book, and by all means, get your blenders ready and start enjoying the delicious world of smoothie bowls.

Perfecting the Scone: A Professional Baker’s #1 Secret

Natasha Holgers didn’t start out as a baker. She studied savory foods in culinary school and worked for years in restaurants. But baking, and specifically pastry, lured her, and finally – about 7 years ago – she resisted the urge no more. Natasha is now pastry production manager at award-winning and critically acclaimed Standard Baking Co., a hot artisanal bakery, located on the waterfront in Portland, Maine. This bakery is so popular that on summer days, they have been known to sell out…of everything.

One of Standard’s most popular baked goods is a Wild Blueberry Scone. The recipe for this scrumptious creation was developed 10 years ago as a way to feature local Wild Blueberries year round, and it remains a vital part of the repertoire. Standard Baking Co. makes about 250-300 scones a day during the busy summer season. The most popular is the prized Wild Blueberry Scone. During a recent morning conversation, Natasha shared the story of this scone and one very important baker’s secret that adds to its perfection.

What is the driving philosophy at Standard Baking?

I would say that we place enormous value on sourcing only the best ingredients. All of our whole grains and whole grain flours are 100% organic and sourced as much as possible from farms in Maine and Quebec. We choose organic, locally grown products and buy from small, family-owned suppliers whenever possible. Our naturally-leavened breads are made with our own organic starters, without any commercial yeast. We emphasize freshness, flavor and nutritional value in all of our choices.

What do you love about scones?

As a baker, scones offer so much possibility for working with seasonal ingredients and interesting flavor combinations. They’re a great way to incorporate whole grains and less refined sweeteners, or to feature a great local dairy product, like buttermilk. As an eater, I love the crunchy edges and buttery, flakey texture. It’s my first choice of treat with a cup of coffee.

Is the Wild Blueberry Scone popular?

Yes, this scone is very popular, especially during the tourist season, when everyone who comes to Maine is looking for lobster, Wild Blueberries, and whoopie pies. Last year the scone was re-invented a little, adding lemon and more Wild Blueberries, and this seemed to make it even more popular.

What makes the Wild Blueberry Scone so special?

It’s honestly all about those Wild Blueberries. I grew up in Virginia and we have those big, watery cultivated blueberries that don’t have any flavor. When I arrived in Maine and found these small Wild Blueberries, I was amazed how much intense flavor was concentrated in such a small amount of space. I feel like the Wild Blueberry flavor really pops in this scone and makes it a favorite.

What are some of your trade secrets?

One of the most important factors in making a scone is to keep all of the ingredients as cold as possible – this includes the butter, the yogurt and of course the berries. It’s essential to use frozen berries. By keeping everything frozen you allow for this wonderful release of steam during the baking process. This steam is what gives you a nice, tall, flakey scone. If we were to use fresh berries it would become a big mushy mess. That’s what we want to avoid.

What’s the process for keeping everything cold?

We start by buying our frozen Wild Blueberries from G.M. Allen & Son a fourth generation Wild Blueberry family from Blue Hill, Maine. When the berries arrive, we keep them frozen up to the moment we want to use them. Then, we grate up frozen butter and keep it as cold as possible. In order to create a delicious scone, all of the ingredients have to be super chilled. As soon as we are ready to make the scone, we pull our ingredients from the freezer.

Is there a trick to using the frozen berries?

No, using the frozen Wild Blueberry in a scone is pretty simple. We don’t prep the berries. We just mix them in at the end of the process keeping them as cold as possible.

Would cheaper cultivated berries work here?

No, I would not try using cultivated blueberries in a scone. There would be too much liquid and they do not have the flavor of the Wild Blueberry. You would end up with a heavy, dense scone and that’s not what we are looking for. Frozen Wild Blueberries are picked and frozen at their prime ripeness, they really hold onto their flavor and texture. If we were to use fresh blueberries it would completely turn to mush.

Who seems to be buying the scone?

During the summer, it’s all the tourists. But in the off-season, it’s men who seem to be buying it. I thought it would be a nice lady thing, but no, the men seem to love it! We also sell to moms who like getting it for their children.

What do customers say about the scone?

I talk to a lot of customers, and I definitely noticed that when we released the new recipe for the Wild Blueberry Scone, there was positive reaction. People really enjoyed the lemon flavor and the increase in Wild Blueberries. They taste even more vibrant now and people really enjoy them.

Are there any other special ingredients?

Yes, the yogurt. Our previous scone recipe used half & half, but we wanted a more tart flavor. The yogurt also gives the scone a better texture.