From growing to cooking, blueberries are custom-designed for today’s hectic lifestyles.
Take the cultivation aspects. Compared to other berry varieties there’s a lot less work involved.
For one thing, blueberry bushes last 40 to 50 year, much longer than the average Hollywood marriage. Whereas, with strawberries, every three to five years you have to dig them up and start over.
Plus, they are a cooperative plant. While the more finicky berries of the Northwest seem to take us on a roller-coaster ride each summer, the plucky blueberry seems to come with a fret-free guarantee.
Then there’s the ease of preparation factor. Talk about a convenience food: no pit, no peel, no puttering. Even freezing is a snap. Just pack them into resealable plastic freezer bags and pop them into the freezer.
The blueberries we find in the market are the cultivated cousins of the intensely flavored huckleberry we harvest in the wild. And just like the wily huckleberry, domestic varieties come in a range of colors, sizes and flavors. So don’t be afraid to sample those berries – we grow more than 50 varieties in the Northwest.
When selecting blueberries of any variety, look for plump, richly colored berries of fairly uniform size. The silvery bloom on the skin is the fruit’s natural protective waxy coating.
This whole-berry relish makes a wonderful accompaniment for smoked pork chops, grilled chicken and roasted duck and turkey.
Blueberry relish
3cups sugar
1 1/2cups water
3pint baskets (about 9 cups) firm-ripe blueberries, rinsed and drained
1 1/2cups cider vinegar
Zest (outer peel only, no white pith) of 2 oranges, cut into 3/4-inch wide strips
3sticks (2 inches each) cinnamon, coarsely broken
1 1/2teaspoons whole allspice
1teaspoon whole coriander seed
1/2teaspoon whole cloves
Combine the sugar and 1 1/2 cups water in a large pan. Heat over medium heat to boiling; boil 1 minute. Add the blueberries and return the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook the mixture, uncovered, at a hard simmer just until the berries are broken, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Pour the berries into a sieve set over a bowl and drain off the syrup. Set the berries aside for later; return the syrup to the pan. Add the vinegar, orange zest, cinnamon, allspice, coriander, and cloves to the syrup and heat to boiling over medium-high heat. Boil the mixture, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the syrup is reduced by about half and registers 220 degrees on a candy-jelly thermometer; this will take about 50 minutes. Remove from heat.
Meanwhile, if you plan to store the relish in jars at room temperature: wash three pint or six half-pint jars. Keep hot until needed. Prepare lids as manufacturer directs. If you plan to refrigerate or freeze, wash suitable containers and dry thoroughly.
Strain the spices from the syrup and discard; return the syrup to the pan. Add the berries and any juices that have accumulated in the bowl and heat the mixture over medium-high heat to boiling. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the relish at a simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
For storage in refrigerator or freezer: place in plastic freezer containers or glass jars, cover with tight fitting lids and refrigerate or freeze.
For long-term storage at room temperature: ladle the hot relish into one hot jar at a time, leaving 1/4-inch head space. Wipe jar rim with a clean, damp cloth. Attach lid. Fill and close remaining jars. Process in a boiling-water canner for 15 minutes (20 minutes at 1,000 to 6,000 feet; 25 minutes above 6,000 feet).
Makes about six cups.
Adapted from “Fancy Pantry,” by Helen Witty
Syrup or cordial? You decide.
First you produce the syrup, which makes a great beverage base or waffle topping. Then you can turn it into a clear, brilliant bluish red cordial.
Either way, consider doubling or tripling the quantities so you don’t have to choose which direction to take the berries.
Blueberry syrup and cordial
1pint basket (about 3 cups) ripe blueberries
3cups sugar
1 1/2cups water
1/3cup strained lemon juice
Good-quality vodka
Sort over the blueberries, removing any stems, and discard any damaged or under- or overripe berries. Rinse the berries and drain them thoroughly.
Puree the berries, using a food processor, blender or food mill fitted with a fine disc. Place the puree in a ceramic or stainless steel bowl; cover the bowl with a thick cloth (such as a terry towel) and let it stand at room temperature for 36 hours. Stir the puree after 2 to 3 hours and several more times during the fermentation period. During this time a crust will form at first, and later the puree will become foamy.
Line a sieve with one layer of dampened very fine nylon net or several layers of dampened fine cheesecloth and set it over a bowl. Pour in the puree and let it drain. When the flow dwindles, twist the corners of the cloth together and press hard on the pulp to extract all possible juice. A jelly bag can also be used for draining; they’re available where canning supplies are sold.
Discard the pulp; measure the juice. You should have about 11/3 cups.
Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat and boil the syrup, uncovered, until it will form a soft ball when a little is dropped into ice water, or until the syrup registers about 235 degrees on a candy/jelly thermometer. Add the blueberry juice and lemon juice, stir the mixture, and let it return to a boil. Simmer it, uncovered, for 5 minutes; remove from heat.
Let the syrup cool completely. At this point you have blueberry syrup (see note below for processing instructions if storing at room temperature). To make blueberry cordial, simply stir it thoroughly with vodka in proportions to taste – add 1/2 to 3/4 cup of vodka to each cup of syrup, or mix the syrup and the vodka in equal amounts. Funnel the cordial into clean, dry bottles, then cap or cork them (use only new corks), and store at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
Makes 1 to 1 1/2 quarts of cordial or about 3 cups of syrup.
To store blueberry syrup at room temperature: Wash three half-pint canning jars. Prepare lids as manufacturer directs. Ladle the boiling hot syrup into one jar at a time, leaving 1/4-inch head space. Wipe jar rim with a clean, damp cloth. Attach lid. Fill and close remaining jars. Process in a boiling water canner for 15 minutes (20 minutes at 1,000 to 6,000 feet; 25 minutes above 6,000 feet).
Dried blueberries
Blueberries are great candidates for your food dehydrator. Unlike blackberries, boysenberries, huckleberries and raspberries, which have too high a seed content to be dried whole, blueberries are relatively seed free. They make a great snack all year long.
Select large firm, fully ripe berries that have a deep blue color all over. Wash berries and remove stems. Berries may be dried with no pretreatment. However, they’ll have a somewhat puffy appearance. If you dip them in boiling water (in a colander) to remove the waxy covering it shortens the drying time and produces a more raisin-like product.
If using a food dehydrator, preheat it to 150 degrees to get the drying process under way immediately. Arrange the washed (and pretreated, if you did that) on the drying trays, leaving small spaces between the berries for even air circulation. Keep the temperature at 150 degrees for 2 to 3 hours, then reduce the temperature to 130 degrees and continue until dry, which will take several more hours, depending on the size and thickness of the berries. The berries are done when they are leathery but pliable, with no pockets of moisture.
When drying is completed, some pieces will be more moist than others because of the size of the fruit or their location in the dryer. Conditioning is a process used to distribute the residual moisture evenly in the fruit. It reduces the chance of spoilage, particularly from mold.
To condition the dried fruit, loosely pack it in plastic or glass containers (after it has cooled) to about 2/3 full. Metal containers may give an unpleasant flavor to the fruit. Cove the containers tightly and let them stand for 2 to 4 days. The excess moisture in some pieces will be absorbed by the drier pieces. Shake the containers daily to separate the pieces and check for signs of condensation on the lids. If condensation occurs, the fruit should be returned to the drying trays for more drying.
Package the fruit in tight-fitting containers, such as jars or recloseable plastic bags, or vacuum packaging.
The dried berries can be stored at room temperature, but you should keep an eye out for the beginning of mold. Shelf life is increased drastically with cooler storage. At 34 degrees, blueberries will not suffer in quality for 18 to 24 months; at 0 degrees, quality will hold for 5 to 8 years.
Adapted from “How To Dry Foods,” by Deanna DeLong
Jan Roberts-Dominguez is a Corvallis, Ore., writer, cookbook author and artist. Readers can reach her by e-mail at janrd@proaxis.com.
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