Blueberry thrill

Pity the little blueberry, always dwarfed in fruit popularity (and profits) by summer giants peaches and strawberries.

That, of course, was before researchers took a closer look and pronounced the magic words: high in antioxidants.

Now what many growers call the “health halo” is helping the U.S. blueberry business enjoy a tremendous surge including what government agriculture analysts say may be a record crop this year.

Thanks to research that shows that blueberries can help protect against some forms of cancer and heart disease, as well as offset some of the effects of aging, consumers have been rushing to add the antioxidant-rich fruit to their daily diet. Blueberries may still trail the mighty strawberry in consumption and production, but sales of blueberries in all forms — fresh, frozen and dried — have exploded in popularity in the past three years.

“All the new research has been a fantastic boon,” says Rod Cook, a spokesman for the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council, a promotion and research group overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. (Highbush blueberries — the bulk of the market — are cultivated plants, as opposed to lowbush blueberries, which are wild.)

Stan Urmann, who runs Riley Creek Blueberry Farm with his family in Laclede, Idaho, says he expects this year’s harvest to be the best they’ve had since the farm opened for picking 13 years ago. Workers there spent a lot more time educating people about the health benefits of blueberries in the early days. Now, most people who come to the farm to pick berries or buy them at area farmers’ markets know about the power of antioxidants.

“We don’t take any chances in our family. We eat a lot of them just to make sure,” Urmann says. “Plus, they just taste really good, too.”

The United States and Canada are the world’s biggest blueberry producers, with the United States producing more than half of the world’s supply. Maine and Michigan lead the country, followed by New Jersey, Oregon, Georgia, North Carolina and Washington state, according to the USDA.

In 2002, for example, Americans bought 105 million pounds of fresh blueberries. Last year, the total jumped to 166 million pounds, according to the Blueberry Council. To meet the growing demand, North American blueberry farmers are producing more. In 2002, 433 million pounds of the berries were produced for fresh and frozen use. Last year, even with a loss of 40 million pounds of Maine blueberries to bad weather, production still hit 457 million pounds, says Cook.

This year, farmers are expecting another big crop — possibly as high as 490 million pounds, according to some industry experts.

“It’s going to be tremendous. That’s what the growers are telling me,” says Stanford Steppa, president of the Maryland-based Magruder’s supermarket chain. “The Carolina blues were wiped out by rain, but we should have a boatload from New Jersey for the Fourth of July.”

Urmann says the warm, wet spring in the Inland Northwest and hot summer sun later in the season created the perfect growing conditions for blueberries at his North Idaho farm. “We have a really great crop.”

Riley Creek Blueberry Farm offers blueberry picking during daylight hours. Picked berries are sold at the farm, as well as, the Sandpoint and Kootenai County farmers markets and at Super 1 foods in Coeur d’Alene, Sandpoint, Post Falls and Rathdrum, Idaho.

For the blueberry industry, the increased demand has been accompanied by an across-the-board shift in how the fruit is consumed. Traditionally, most of the berries went to the bakery and dairy industries for products such as muffins and flavored yogurt. Fresh and frozen blueberries held a distant second place, and dried blueberries didn’t even exist until a few years ago.

“But there’s been a huge percentage growth in direct consumer consumption. Frozen blueberries have gone more and more away from the bakery business to direct consumer sales. There’s been a huge growth in dried blueberries as well,” says Cook, himself a blueberry grower.

At SkylarHaley, a Pleasanton, Calif., dried-fruit and beverage company, general manager Peter Vermeulen says he has seen sales of the company’s Stoneridge Orchards brand of dried blueberries skyrocket in the past three years, rising to more than 2 million this year from less than 200,000 pounds in 2002. Demand is especially strong at wholesale clubs such as Costco, where the berries are sold in bags that proclaim: “good source of antioxidants.”

“We were surprised,” he says. We didn’t expect (sales) to be this strong.”

With an ample supply of blueberries for consumers, cookbook author Jennifer Trainer Thompson, who grew up picking blueberries in Maine, says people should experiment with the fruit beyond the usual breakfast and dessert recipes.

Her new book, “Very Blueberry” (Celestial Arts, $5.95), offers several nontraditional recipes including an easy salad of arugula, prosciutto and blueberries with a citrus vinaigrette, and a blueberry salsa to be served with grilled chicken or fish.

For cooking blueberries, such as for a pie filling, she recommends trying frozen wild berries “because they hold their shape so much better.”

She even suggests giving blueberries as a wedding present: “A woman I know says she always gives a pair of blueberry bushes to the couple getting married because you need a pair for them to cross-pollinate and produce berries.”

Blueberry Salsa

The sweet heat from this salsa complements grilled fish or chicken. A dash of hot sauce increases its heat. Adapted from Thompson’s “Very Blueberry.”

1 cup blueberries, coarsely chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, stem removed, seeded and diced

1 jalapeno or serrano chili pepper, seeded and minced

2 tablespoons minced cilantro

2 green onions, white and light-green parts only, finely chopped

Juice of 1/2 lime

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Pinch sugar

In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving. May keep up to 3 days.

Yield: About 1 cup

Approximate nutrition per 1/4 cup serving: 33 calories, no fat, 1 gram protein, 8 grams carbohydrates, no cholesterol, 2 grams dietary fiber, 150 milligrams sodium.

Blueberry-Walnut Wild Rice Salad

Fresh berries, herbs and orange juice are recommended here. This salad may be made up to 2 hours in advance. Adapted from a recipe on the Web site of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council ( www.blueberry.org).

For the salad:

4 ounces ( 1/2 cup) coarsely chopped walnuts (may substitute slivered almonds)

1 pint (2 cups) blueberries, washed and drained, stems removed

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon chopped tarragon

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 cups wild rice or wild- and white-rice combination, cooked and cooled

6 ounces ( 3/4 cup) cooked turkey or chicken breast, cut into strips or chunks

1 head butter lettuce

1 orange, peeled, seeded and cut into segments

For the salad dressing:

1/2 cup orange juice

2 tablespoons champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

2 teaspoons chopped thyme

1 tablespoon walnut oil (optional)

For the salad: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 5 to 7 minutes, until lightly toasted. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, combine the blueberries, sugar, tarragon, and salt and pepper to taste, and stir to combine. Let stand 15 minutes. Add the rice, chicken or turkey and the toasted walnuts.

For the salad dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the orange juice, vinegar, parsley, thyme and the walnut oil, if desired. Pour over the blueberry-rice mixture and toss to combine. Adjust seasonings.

To serve, divide the lettuce and orange segments among individual plates. Top each with some of the blueberry salad mixture. Serve at room temperature.

Yield: 4 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: 480 calories, 25 grams fat (3 grams saturated, 47 percent fat calories), 23 grams protein, 42 grams carbohydrates, 29 milligrams cholesterol, 7 grams dietary fiber, 113 milligrams sodium.

Maine Blueberry Gateau

Janie Hibler, author of “The Berry Bible,” makes this recipe often. It comes from the Benjamin F. Packard House, a bed-and-breakfast in Bath, Maine, which serves the dish to guests year-round. Hibler says you may use frozen wild blueberries or fresh blueberries, or a combination of blueberries and raspberries.

1 cup plus 1 teaspoon flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

2 large eggs

1 pint (2 cups) blueberries, rinsed and drained (may substitute frozen wild blueberries)

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Confectioners’ sugar, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan and dust with flour. (You also can make this cake in a 9-inch-round cake pan that has been greased and dusted with flour, and lined on the bottom with parchment paper.)

In a small bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour with the baking powder and kosher salt, and set aside.

Using an electric mixer on medium-high to high speed, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time and continue beating until well-blended. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture. Beat until smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

In a medium bowl, combine the blueberries with the remaining teaspoon of flour and the lemon juice. Spoon the berry mixture over the batter.

Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees, or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes. If using a springform pan, slide a thin knife around the edges of the cake to release it from the pan before you release and remove the springform. (If using a cake pan, slide a thin knife around the edges of the cake and invert it onto a cake rack. Transfer the cake to a platter, berry side up.)

Dust the cake with confectioners’ sugar before serving.

Yield: 6 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: 402 calories, 5 g protein, 59 g carbohydrates, 17 g fat, 112 mg cholesterol, 10 g saturated fat, 222 mg sodium, 3 g dietary fiber.

Blueberry Cheesecake for Calorie Counters

From the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council. For more recipes, including a Blueberry Cheesecake recipe for Carb Counters go to: www.blueberry.org.

3 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs

2 containers (6 ounces each) low-fat vanilla yogurt

1 cup fat-free cottage cheese

4 ounces fat-reduced cream cheese

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 cup egg substitute

Blueberry Sauce (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray bottom and side of a 9-inch pie plate with vegetable cooking spray; sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs, and tilt to coat evenly. Place a coffee filter or two layers of paper towels in a strainer; stir 1 container of the yogurt and spoon it into the filter; set aside to drain, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a food processor, blend the remaining container of yogurt, cottage cheese, cream cheese and cornstarch until smooth. Add the eggs and pulse until combined. Carefully pour into the crumb-coated pie plate; smooth top. Bake until set in the center, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the Blueberry Sauce. When pie is set, spread the drained yogurt over the top; bake 5 minutes longer. Cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Chill until cold. Serve with Blueberry Sauce.

For the Blueberry Sauce: In a medium-size saucepan over medium heat, stir 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries with 2 tablespoons sugar (or granulated non-nutritive sweetener) and 1 tablespoon each lemon juice and water until berries are soft, about 5 minutes; chill.

Yield: 8 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving, including 1 1/2 tablespoons blueberry sauce: 152 calories, 4.5 grams fat (2.6 grams saturated, 26.6 percent fat calories), 19 grams carbohydrate, 13 grams cholesterol, 1 gram dietary fiber, 208 milligrams sodium.