Blueberries – All You Need to Know | Instacart Guide to Fresh Produce

What are blueberries?

Blueberries are small, blue, and firm berries that have a very fragrant aroma. While they haven’t been around commercially for that long, they are now one of the most popular berries across the country.

Blueberries are perennial flowering shrubs in the genus vaccinium, along with their close relatives cranberries and huckleberries. They come in 4 different varieties: lowbush, rabbiteye, half-high, and highbush. The names designate how tall the plant will become.

Blueberries are delicious when eaten fresh, but they can be turned into a sauce for a dessert topping, made into jams and jellies, baked into blueberry muffins, eaten as dried blueberries, and more.

Where did blueberries originate from?

The blueberry plant can be found in the wild in the northern United States and Canada, parts of Europe, and the Andes Mountains in South America. In North America, the Native Americans and First Nations People harvested blueberries for over a thousand years before the countries were colonized by Europeans. 

In the United States specifically, New Jersey was the first place where the plants were cultivated in the early 1900s. 

What is the nutritional value of blueberries?

Nutritionally, blueberries are known as a superfood and are calorie-dense. One cup of fresh berries contains:

• Only 80 calories
• 15g of carbohydrates
• 4g of fiber
• 36% of the recommended daily intake (RDI) of Vitamin K
• 24% of the RDI of vitamin C
• 25% of the RDI of manganese

Besides having vitamins needed for a healthy diet, blueberries are loaded with antioxidants, containing some of the highest levels in all fruits.

How are blueberries grown?

Blueberries are one of the easier berries for people to grow at home. The first thing to do is pick which type of blueberry bush is best suited to your environment.

• Lowbush: The lowbush variety is the smallest in height, coming in at 12-18in. It’s also the hardiest. It can survive being covered in snow and the cold, even in hardiness zones 3-7.
• Highbush: The highbush blueberry can reach a height of 7ft and is more suited to a warmer climate than its lowbush cousin. It will thrive in hardiness zones 4-7.
• Rabbiteye: The rabbiteye variety is extremely heat-tolerant since it survives in zones 7-9. They are also the highest growing blueberry variety, reaching heights of 12ft. This variety can adapt to a wider range of soils.

Hybrids of these varieties combine different features, like cold tolerance and a taller plant. Other types of plants can also ripen at different times. You can mix plants that ripen early, mid, and late seasons if you want a more extended harvest season. Since blueberries pollinate themselves, you can get a crop with only one plant, but having more only helps the pollination rate.

A few other keys to a successful blueberry crop are:

• Have acidic soil in the 4.0-5.5 pH range, which can be achieved by adding sulfur to the soil. Just make sure to test the pH regularly.
• Mulch around the berries to prevent weeds from stealing the plant’s nutrients and taking over the planter.
• Net the blueberries to stop birds and other creatures from stealing your harvest before you get the chance to enjoy it.

When are blueberries in season?

Blueberries are in season for over half of the year. Florida starts the season off as early as March, while Maine and Idaho finish in late September. Blueberries are commercially grown in Australia, which has the opposite seasons from the United States, making blueberries commercially available all year round.

What should I look for when buying blueberries?

When you buy blueberries, you want to find completely blue, unblemished, and plump berries. If the blueberry has any red or green on it, it is not ripe yet. You also want the berry to be just under-firm; firm berries are not quite ready yet. If you are lucky enough to go to a U-pick farm, the ripest berries will fall into your hand when you touch them. Avoid berries that are wrinkled or leaking. 

Grab it now on Instacart:

Signature SELECT Preserves, Blueberry (23 oz)

Ultra Moist Blueberry Muffin (4.5 oz)

Dried Blueberries (16 oz container)

Naturipe Blueberries, Fresh (18 oz container)

Blueberries (1 Container)

If you are looking to have your groceries delivered, you can easily shop for blueberries via Instacart. After adding a product to your cart, use the “Instructions” option to notify your Instacart shopper about any preferences or specific directions on how to choose the best products.

How to store blueberries

The first thing to do after purchasing your blueberries is to make sure they can breathe. If blueberries get hot in an enclosed bag or the sun, they won’t stay ripe as long. Sort through your blueberries and remove any that feel mushy or have any trace of mold. Do not wash the blueberries until you are ready to eat them because this can make them turn mushy. After completing the sorting process, refrigerate the berries, and they will last for up to 2 weeks in perfect conditions.

Blueberries are great to freeze as well. Just make sure they are dry before putting them in the freezer in an airtight bag.

How to tell if blueberries are bad

When blueberries start to go bad, the berries will leak before wrinkling and becoming moldy, as most produce does. If you can catch this right away, you can remove the troublesome berries before mold spreads to the others in the container.

What can I substitute for blueberries?

Since blueberries have a sweet flavor, you can substitute them for several other berries. Try using blackberries, raspberries, acai, or strawberries in place of them.

How to find blueberries near me

Blueberries are one of the most popular berries for a reason. Their bright, sweet flavor and fruity aroma will lure you into snacking on them all day. If you need a little health boost from some blueberries, you can have fresh fruit delivered the same day with Instacart!

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Instacart is the leading grocery technology company in North America, partnering with more than 1,500 national, regional, and local retail banners to deliver from more than 85,000 stores across more than 14,000 cities in North America. To read more Instacart posts, you can browse the company blog or search by keyword using the search bar at the top of the page.