Blueberry Picking at Parlee Farms - one of the healthiest foods!
Blueberries are one of the easiest fruits to pick and store,
as well as one of the healthiest! Blueberries rank number one in antioxidant activity
as compared with 40 other fruits and vegetables. Here at Parlee Farms, we started planting blueberry bushes in 1991.
Due to large demand for fresh blueberries, we have continually added more plantings.
Our last new planting in 2008 put our blueberry acreage to over eight acres.
Blueberry pick-your-own and fresh picked blueberries are available from mid-July until
early September, with over 10 varieties ripening at Parlee Farms over the course of the season.
To remind you how much fun blueberry picking is at Parlee Farms, take a look at our
BLUEBERRY SEASON VIDEO!
In June 2009, Mark Parlee met with WBZ-TV’s Todd Gutner to discuss the effects
of the never-ending rain that occurred that June on our strawberry and blueberry crops, as well as some tips
on growing blueberry bushes in your garden. In case you missed it, here is the
link to it: WBZ-TV Gardening with Gutner.
A few facts about blueberries:
- Blueberries have their greatest flavor when they are left on the bush for 7-10 days after turning blue. When ripe, the blueberries will easily come off the bush.
- Blueberries should not be washed until you are ready to use them.
- They have a long shelf life - almost two weeks for dry, refrigerated blueberries.
- One cup of fresh blueberries has about 85 calories.
- One quart of fresh blueberries weighs about 1-1/2 lbs and will yield five servings.
Freezing Tips:
- Sort through blueberries and remove stems.
- You do not need to wash blueberries prior to freezing - you can rinse them prior to using them frozen.
- However, if you choose to wash the berries, rinse the blueberries in a colander and let sit for 10 minutes to drain water.
- Pat dry - the berries must be perfectly dry to avoid freezer burn and sticking together.
- Place blueberries apart in a single layer on a cookie sheet and place in freezer. If you pre-freeze the cookie sheet, the berries will freeze faster.
- Once frozen, place in containers or zip-lock bags and return to freezer. They will be great if used frozen in recipes, on cereal, or in smoothies!
