Posted on 07/13/2005 1:28:22 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Each autumn, Terhune Orchards in Lawrence holds Apple Day, a celebration of that season's favorite fruit. Last weekend, July's most popular berry got its own celebration when Terhune held its first Blueberry Bash.
A cheerful crowd picked and ate buckets of blueberries and piles of blueberry baked goods, testimony to the growing fervor for the native New Jersey fruit, which is rich in cancer-fighting antioxidants and high in vitamin C.
The public's interest in blueberries, which are in high season now in central New Jersey, has not gone unnoticed by local growers.
"There is definitely an increase in interest with all the research saying blueberries are a cancer fighter and a memory enhancer," says Judy DeFiccio, owner of Pinelands Farms in Hammonton.
DeFiccio spent Saturday making blueberry pancakes at her farm stand at the Trenton Farmers Market on the other side of Lawrence, which was hosting its own blueberry day. In between dishing up pancakes, she sold berries to a steady stream of customers.
"People always bought blueberries, but they are buying more now," she says. In addition to baking and cooking with them, she said customers freeze them for future use.
Response to the weekend Blueberry Base was so great that Terhune will make it an annual event, said Pam Mount, who owns the farm with husband Gary.
"Almost everybody likes blueberries," she said, although they have seen increased interest since the news of the fruit's high nutritional value first broke.
(Excerpt) Read more at nj.com ...
i thought this was about Robert Reich, based on the subject title. My bad.
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