Eating Blueberries

[Jeepers]

One year a huge blueberry patch in our small town wasn't going to get harvested. So, they let the public come in and take what they wanted. I got a lot of them and put them in the small pint size sandwich type zip loc bags. I measured out a cup per bag because I planned to use them in muffins and pancakes etc. Then I stored them in the freezer.

 

Most of those berries didn't make it in cooking. They were so good straight from the freezer. They kept their round individual shape and when you pop them in your mouth they would start to thaw. In a few seconds they tasted like fresh frosty blueberries.

 

So, if you like blueberries and have a chance to get a bunch, they make great snacks straight from the freezer.

[Stephanie]

Thanks for the tip!

 

I put 12 qts in the freezer this weekend, I'll keep that snack idea in mind...sounds like a quick, easy, healthy one!

[Crazy4Canning]

My dad likes to do this with all sorts of berries and pours milk over them while they're frozen. He loves the crunchy milky berry flavor.

[MamaTiger]

I've done that before too...got 12 bags tonight for a grand total of 52 so far. Aiming to get another 26 if I can.

[Aint2nuts]

I have a friend with a blueberry farm who is willing to send me blueberries. I just have to get some money together for the shipping and 7 dollars a gallon cost.

 

Here blueberries are an arm and a leg...and sometimes your first born.

[DoubleD]

We do this every year! We go to a local large u-pick berry farm that is on the coast and spend an afternoon picking A TON of blueberries - usually two very full five gallon buckets and sometimes a partial third bucket if we are not too hot and tired to keep going. It is a very enjoyable afternoon spent by the side of the sea - listening to other people talking and laughing and doing alot of that ourselves as we pick.

 

When we get home - I begin freezing them by putting them flat on cookie sheets (with an edge) and freezing them until hard. They are then put in gallon zip lock freezer bags. By freezing them flat they do not stick together - even when a gallon bag is full to the top. We scoop out what we need for recipes and we eat them as snacks (frozen berries are most yum). My teenage daughter eats them all the time as her preferred snack food. We go through about 10 gallon bags of them in a year's time as a result. Everyone enjoys them all the more for knowing the work that went into picking them - and remembering the lovely day spent doing so together.

 

 

[DenimDaze]

round lil blueberries, huh Jeepers?

 

have you tried dehydrating them?

[Stephanie]

[Jeepers]

Originally Posted By: NYDebbie

round lil blueberries, huh Jeepers?

have you tried dehydrating them?

Debbie------><-------Me

[Ferretma]

Originally Posted By: NYDebbie

round lil blueberries, huh Jeepers?

have you tried dehydrating them?

Yes, and Stephanie's response is perfect. I gave up before they were dry. OMG, they take forEVER.

Blueberries are so yummy. They make everything better. I love them in pancakes and adding them (frozen) to yogurt and on top of breakfast cereals.

My favorite U-pick place is open tomorrow and the listed price is $1.25 per pound. I may go if I can beat the heat (so I don't pass out). But then again, my neighbor is selling me Bing or Sweet Anne cherries for $1.25 a pound too. How much canning time is there in one weekend?

[serendipity]

Originally Posted By: NYDebbie

round lil blueberries, huh Jeepers?

have you tried dehydrating them?

[serendipity]

Ferretma, I am so envious of your great prices on cherries and blueberries!

 

Good for you! Wish they were that here! Have fun!

[DenimDaze]

me too!

 

I paid 1.99 for blueberries, 2.49 for cherries!

 

but they had a lunchstand and a lovely play area for the kids, so I was partly paying for that.