ARTICLE TOOLS

E-mail story

Comments

Printer friendly version

iPod friendly version

Share This

Text Size: A A A A

True blue benefits: Not just tasty, blueberries pack powerful nutritional punch

By: Anne Braly
(Contact)

Included in this article

Dr. Amy Howell

A year ago, a late freeze put an early end to blueberry season. This year, local crops are coming along just fine, said J.L. Rogers, owner of Rogers Farm in LaFayette, Ga. He has been in the berry business for five years and has 120 producing blueberry bushes and another 150 young bushes that should yield fruit in a couple of years.

"They're looking really good," he said of his berries. He expects them to last through the week.

Other farmers predict their harvests to last through the end of the month, according to www.pickyourown.org.

Blueberry lover Cindy Pinion said she visits her friends Betty and Joel Arwood in Valley Head, Ala., a couple of times a week to pick these nutritious superfruits. The Arwoods have more than 100 bushes brimming with blueberries this time of year.

"Last year, the freeze got them, but this year, they're looking really good," Ms. Pinion said. She and her boyfriend, James Bacon, share picking duties.

"We go about twice a week, usually starting at 6 a.m. before it gets too hot," she said. "By 11 o'clock, it's just too piping hot to pick any more," she said.

Ms. Pinion said she appreciates the picking experience because of the "serenity of it. It's absolutely a beautiful time of day to go. I feel very close to God. It's a time there's hardly any traffic, and I can hear all the birds singing. The blueberries make the landscape so pretty. They're all different colors, from pink to purple, depending on how ripe they are. It's like God's little coloring book."

She usually comes home with about seven gallons of berries and freezes the ones she doesn't use right away.

Based on her experience, she suggests doing away with a long-accepted practice.

"People say you need to spread blueberries out on a cookie sheet to freeze them," Ms. Pinion said. "You really don't need to do that. I always put mine in a freezer bag or any size container, and they will freeze individually that way, too. Just try to pick the stems out and any unripe ones, too, before you freeze them. And don't wash them first."

Blueberries are packed with nutrients. Their health benefits include anti-aging properties that boost brain functions and components that may help prevent heart disease and cancer.

"Blueberries were propelled into the stratosphere six or seven years ago when researchers began comparing them to other fruits and vegetables," said Dr. Amy Howell, a research scientist at the Marucci Center for Blueberry and Cranberry Research at Rutgers University. "As it turned out, blueberries were at the top of the list."

Since then, she continued, research has extended beyond their antioxidant capabilities to encompass anti-inflamatory properties and brain research.

"We're finding that blueberries help with coordination and memory as we age and may even help with Alzheimer's," she said.

Several compounds make blueberries nutritionally valuable, including the pigment that makes the berries blue and tannins found in the skins.

"You just need a cup (a day) to provide all the nutrients," Dr. Howell said.

While South American blueberries are available during the winter, she suggests freezing local berries for later use. The price and flavor are both better.

When you get your berries home, pop a cupful in your mouth for good measure, then sweeten your day with one of these recipes.

Blueberry-Lemon Tart

Pastry:

11/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

Pinch kosher salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold, in chunks

1 large egg, separated

2 tablespoons ice water, plus 1 teaspoon

Filling:

4 large eggs

11/2 cups sugar

1 cup fresh lemon juice (about 5 lemons)

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 lemon, zested

Pinch kosher salt

1 pint blueberries

To make the pastry, pulse the flour, sugar and salt together in a food processor. Add the butter, and pulse until the dough resembles cornmeal. Add the egg yolk and 2 tablespoons ice water, and pulse again until the dough pulls together. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and let it rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch circle. Roll the dough up onto the pin and lay it inside a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough into the edges of the pan and fold the excess dough inside to reinforce the rim. Cover the tart pan with plastic wrap, and put it into the refrigerator for another 30 minutes to rest.

To bake the shell, heat the oven to 350 F. Put the tart pan on a baking sheet and prick the bottom of the dough with a fork. Cover the shell with a piece of parchment paper, and fill it with pie weights or dry beans. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove the parchment and weights. Lightly beat the egg white with 1 teaspoon water, and brush it onto the bottom and sides of the tart shell; set aside to cool.

Whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon juice, cream, zest and salt. Add the blueberries to the cooled tart shell and pour the filling over the blueberries. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. The curd should jiggle slightly when done. Cool to room temperature, remove from the tart ring and serve.

www.foodnetwork.com

Blueberry Crunch

Cindy Pinion says whenever she makes this, there are never any leftovers. "People love it," she said.

1 can crushed pineapple

3 cups blueberries

1/2 cup sugar

1 yellow or white cake mix

1 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup sugar

1 stick melted butter

In 9- by- 13-inch pan, layer pineapple, blueberries, 1/2 cup sugar, cake mix, pecans and 1/4 cup sugar. Drizzle butter over top. Bake at 350 F for 45-55 minutes or till golden brown on top.

Blueberry-Onion Sauced Pork Tenderloin

3/4 to 1 pound pork tenderloin

2 tablespoons butter, divided

2 medium onions, sliced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 cup port wine or sweet sherry

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes

Heat broiler. Broil pork, turning occasionally, until cooked through, about 20 minutes. Remove to a platter; cover to keep warm. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Add onions, salt and pepper; cook until onions are golden, about 10 minutes. Add sugar; cook until onions are caramelized, 3 minutes longer. Add port, balsamic, blueberries and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Thinly slice pork and serve with sauce. Makes 4 servings.

www.blueberrycouncil.org

Blueberry Jam

Here's all the flavor of old-fashioned jam without the bother of boiling jars and processing the finished product because you keep it in the freezer.

61/2 cups (about 5 pints) fresh blueberries, coarsely chopped (see note)

1 package (1.75 ounces) granulated fruit pectin for lower-sugar recipes

41/2 cups sugar, divided

1 tablespoon ground ginger or 2 teaspoons

Finely grated orange rind, optional

In a large saucepan, combine blueberries and 1/2 cup water. In a small bowl, stir together pectin and 1/4 cup of the sugar. Stir pectin mixture into blueberries. Over high heat, stirring constantly, bring mixture to a rolling boil. Add the remaining 41/4 cups sugar all at once; return to a rolling boil. Boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly; remove from heat; skim off any foam; set aside until cool enough to handle, about 30 minutes. Transfer to 1-cup freezer containers, filling to about 1/2 inch from the top; continue to cool at room temperature until jam has set; cover and freeze. Thaw to serve; store any leftover jam in the refrigerator for up to one month. Makes about 9 cups.

Note: Place whole blueberries in a food processor container; pulse until coarsely chopped. Or place blueberries in a bowl; crush with a potato masher or pastry blender.

www.blueberrycouncil.org

Blueberry basics

* Adding blueberries to batter: Minimize streaking by gently folding fresh or frozen berries into batter at the end of the mix cycle. Add blueberries to batters while frozen; do not overmix. Bake immediately to prevent color leeching.

* Avoid blueberry drop: Spread half of the batter in the pan, then all the blueberries, and top with remaining batter. Or coat blueberries with flour or starch before stirring into batter. One reason blueberries sink is that the specific gravity may be too low. Increase specific gravity by using a thicker, denser batter. Another reason might be that too much air has been incorporated into the batter. Avoid overblending during the first stage of creaming.

* Keep the blues: The secret to beautiful colored berries in baked goods is proper pH. Blueberries turn reddish when exposed to acids, such as lemon juice and vinegar. Blueberries turn greenish-blue in a batter that has too much baking soda, which creates an alkaline environment.

— www.blueberrycouncil.org

Pick your own

For a complete listing of blueberry farms in Tennessee and Georgia, www.pickyourown.org is a good resource. Here are several in our area. Call ahead for availability.

* Berryhills Farm -- 1505 Blythe Ferry Lane, Birchwood; 339-2789.

* Bollenbacher's Blueberries -- 445 County Road 278, Sweetwater, Tenn.; (423) 337-9562.

* Fox Blueberry Farm -- 863 Owens Chapel Road, Calhoun, Ga.; (706) 629-1085.

* The Blueberry Farm -- 1363 Highway 151, LaFayette, Ga.; (706) 638-0908.

* Rogers Farm -- 94 Rogers Lane, LaFayette, Ga.; (706) 638-4375.

Comments