Organic Wild Blueberries, Apple Juice Sweetened

General Information

Origin: Canada / Chile

Ingredients: organic wild blueberries, organic apple juice concentrate, organic sunflower oil (<1%)

Botanical Name: Vaccinium angustifolium

Certified Organic

Production

For such small berries, blueberries have plenty of history! In the early 1900s, nobody thought blueberries could be domesticated. However, countering public opinion, Elizabeth White, the daughter of a New Jersey farmer, was determined to grow a flourishing industry for cultivated blueberries. In 1911, she teamed up with USDA botanist Frederick Coville to identify wild plants with the most desirable
properties, crossbreed the bushes and create vibrant new blueberry varieties. Coville and White harvested and sold the first commercial crop of blueberries out of Whitesbog, N.J., in 1916. In 1932, White was awarded by the state of New Jersey for “outstanding contributions to agriculture”. By the 1990s, researchers were beginning to understand the incredible benefits of eating blueberries, and by the early
2000s, they were considered a staple of a healthy lifestyle.

Qualities

Blueberries contain an incredibly high amount of antioxidants along with Vitamin C and dietary fiber. They also contain anthocyanins, a potent free phytochemical that has been known to fight free radicals, thus improving cardiovascular health. The antioxidants in blueberries also neutralize free-radicals that cause oxidative DNA damage.

Common Use

Like fresh blueberries, dried blueberries are easily incorporated into everyday diets, from breakfast foods (waffles, pancakes, granola, cereal) to toppings on salads and in trail mixes. Below is a delicious recipe for a wild rice salad, incorporating blueberries!