Up on the mountain behind my house, the wild blueberries are ripe and prolific. It’s public land, part of the Maine state-park system, so the berries are free for the picking. In a half-hour or so, if I’m lucky, I can fill a tin cup with enough berries for breakfast, mixed into muffins or pancakes or, best of all, on their own with a smidgen of sugar and a dollop of yogurt.
These are Maine wild or low-bush blueberries, a very special breed. Vaccinium angustifolium are tiny and sweet, with a tartly resinous edge missing from the cultivated high-bush berries of other regions. The color is deep blue, sometimes lightly dusted with white — “like pieces of the sky,” our grandmothers told us.
Only a couple of times in my life have I been at a time and a place to taste fresh picked “wild” blueberries…It is a situation I hope to remedy in a couple of years. As it is I now get most of my blueberries out of a bag from the freezer. Not the optimum method, but it’ll do until better comes along.
The sentiment I liked best was summed up as…
I asked Yarborough if the antioxidant content is affected by cooking. “It is a little,” he said, “but that’s just a good excuse for two pieces of pie.”
Here’s to a couple of slices of pie for you…Have a healthy, happy two slice day.
