Growers Hunt for New Uses To Head Off Blueberry Glut

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ^ | April 23, 2003 | BARBARA CARTON

[Carpet Kitten]

At the University of Maine, food science professor Al Bushway is three years into a study, partly funded by the blueberry industry, to see whether mixing wild blueberry puree into precooked burgers will prevent the off-taste of reheated meat.

Roughly 500 test hamburgers and chickenburgers later, there's hope, he reports -- so long as blueberries are kept to less than 3% of the ingredients. "We went up to 7%," Dr. Bushway says, "but you got a color effect that people may not want to see." By that he means bluish chicken.

[CFW]

Bubba Gump's blueberry glut:

We can make blueberry pie, blueberry salad, blueberry ice cream, blueberry milkshakes, fried blueberries, steamed blueberries, ......

[RichardW]

I love blueberries.

[oceanperch]

jelly

[ladtx]

you forgot chickenfried blueberries

[Lil'freeper]

and in cereal, danishes, and muffins, and on cheesecake, poundcake, pancakes, waffles, blintzes.

I love blueberries.

[MrNeutron1962]

Mrs Neutron is in heaven, she would eat blueberries 3 times a day if she could. I have a dozen blueberry (High Bush, not low bush like talked about here) bushes, and a freezer full of them every summer.

[larryjohnson]

My daughter farms organic bluberries and sells them directly to health stores. She gets $4.00 per lb. Other growers are getting $.25 a lb. That's 25 cents from the coops they sell them to. It's supply and demand,folks.

[Carpet Kitten]

I planted two low bushes last summer in NY, and they never flowered. Is the NYC area climate OK for them?

[PBRSTREETGANG]

Is the NYC area climate OK for them?

Growing up on Long Island we had a couple of bushes in our backyard that produced berries every year.

[Henk]

$5 for a half pint yesterday at a grocery in Charlotte. It's ridiculous.

[elephantlips]

Believe it or not, the largest Blueberry farm is in Southern New Jersey!

[Trust but Verify]

Me too,and they're soooo good for you!!! I'm all for a glut of those wonderful, healthful little gems. That means I can afford to eat lots more of them!!!

[FrogMom]

Put them in the store at lower prices, I'll buy them!

I looked at them in the local market the other night, they cost 2.99 for a half pint so I left them there - bring down those prices and I'll fill my freezer.

[netmilsmom]

We are paying 2.50 for a half pint in Michigan!!!
Some glut.

[r9etb]

Stan Jones's family could use them to match dear old dad...

[Trust but Verify]

See, as much as I love them, I just can't pay that much for them! You're right, it IS ridiculous. When is the peak season for blues, does any one know?

[Trust but Verify]

LOL!!

[Trust but Verify]

And Michigan is a big BB growing state, isn't it? They must be out of season right now. Too bad they don't stay fresh for long.