Blueberry Heaven

I can only imagine the scale of human effort and logistics that mean that on a whim, the merest fanciful thought or just one of those tummy rumbling moments I can find and buy Blueberries at any time on an all year round basis.

I have become increasingly aware of the global production of what is now one of my favourite fruits in noticing the shifting pattern of "country of origin" on the cellophane wrapper of my usual £2 punnet purchase from my local supermarkets.

It is possible to track the season and harvest that keeps me in Blueberries from growers in Eastern Europe, fringing the Mediterranean, into East Africa, across South America, up into North America and even from my own doorstep in the United Kingdom.

Of course the small, blackish bluey matt , tightly formed berries have been around for centuries if not, from their  origins in the wild, millenia but they have only really become mainstream in my own lifetime.

Commonly an ingredient in jams, yoghurts and used in baking their availability in raw and unwashed state for snack consumption is a relatively modern phenomena.

In botanic terms the plant is a perennial flowerer and of the genus vaccinum.

There are many different varieties arising from natural selection as well as those developed and engineered to improve taste, texture and yield.

In an increasingly health conscious market the humble blueberry can truly be described as a "superfood". As well as being one of the highest antioxidants it displays properties that are proven to help the human condition, can contribute in other physiological ways and may have other far reaching benefits to health.

In no particular order or provenance these include a low calorific value, a potential to slow ageing and susceptibility to cancer, improve brain function, inhibit cholesterol and lower blood pressure, repair muscle damage, prevent heart disease and assist in the urinary tract.

I just like the sharp taste so any of the foregoing are a bonus. In the last year my blueberries have been sourced by the big retailers where I shop from Poland, Spain, Kenya, Dubai, Peru and the South of England representing a remarkably wide geographical spread which must to me indicate a fairly sturdy plant in terms of being able to cope with an equally wide range of climates.

There are favoured soil conditions with best growth in a highly acidic soil, well aerated and drained. As well as the main supermarket suppliers the Blueberry is also grown for home markets in a number of other parts of the world. The largest producer, by some margin, is the United States followed by its neighbour, Canada and then Poland, Germany, Mexico, France, Scandinavia, other more distant parts of the former Communist Eastern Bloc and with emerging sources in South America and India. In the northern hemisphere the harvest period is mid July, in the North Americas from mid June to mid August, Mexico is from October to February and in Australia due to its size and climatic range it is possible for a blueberry harvest to be going on somewhere from July to the following April.

This is only the beginning of the journey to reach my cereal bowl, mingle in my fruit salad and to be found in every bite through that midweek muffin down at the coffee shop.

I am thankful to all of those who make this possible.