Okay, we missed — or didn’t even know about — National Blueberry Month in July, but any month is time to celebrate the berry in New Jersey.
The reason is that in addition to it being a major crop, the blueberry started here — that is the one we love to pop into our mouths.
It was in 1916 that Elizabeth C. White, the daughter of a prominent New Jersey cranberry producer, collaborated with Dr. Frederick A. Coville of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to developed the first cultivated blueberry at Whitesbog — located in the Pinelands in Burlington County.
The State of New Jersey lists White’s achievement “an important part of New Jersey history and the history of the blueberry culture in the United States.”
It is also good news for New Jersey. According to the NJ Department of Agriculture, blueberries were the number one crop in New Jersey for 2022 with a production value of $69 million.
That translates into state farmers using 7,000 acres to harvest 34 million pounds of blueberries.
While the larger in size Washington State gets the title for the berry producer, smaller and population denser NJ has maintained its status as one of the top contenders.
That success is related to blueberries being a plant that adapted to the acidic soil found in the state’s Pinelands region.
That “New Jersey Perfect Together” combo of plant and place has allowed the Pinelands-based town of Hammonton to call itself “The Blueberry Capital of the World.”
While the title may smack of hype, there are also some stats. Eighty percent of the state’s blueberries are grown in or close to the 41.32 square mile Atlantic County town.
The NJ Department of Agriculture says the blueberry season for New Jersey lasts through the end of July, which means that final yield of the season have just appeared at state farmstands and supermarkets
And while it may be too hot to think about making a pie, the berries can be a cool and nutritious treat on their own — low in calories and high in antioxidants.
Or put them in the freezer for a cooler day when you can celebrate blueberries all year with any of the following New Jersey recipes:
Blueberry Jam
Courtesy of New Jersey Department of Agriculture’s Jersey Fresh campaign:
Ingredients:
• 10 cups Jersey Fresh blueberries, 6 cups mashed
• 8 tablespoons pectin (we used Ball RealFruit Classic Pectin)
• 4 ½ cups sugar, divided
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• ½ cup water
Equipment:
• 10, 8 oz jars with lids and rings (we canned 7 and refrigerated 3)
• Canning rack and 1 huge pot for canning, or canner
• Potato masher
• Pie plate for mashing berries
• Bowl to store prepared fruit before cooking
• 1 large pot for jam, about 16-20 quart
• Funnel
• Magnetic Lid Lifter
• Kettle, if necessary
• Jar Grabber
• Large spoons and ladle
Directions:
45m prep / 45-55m cook time
1. Wash jars, lids and rings with soap and hot water.
2. Rinse the blueberries.
3. Sanitize the jars and lids: put rack and jars in the pot, fill with hot water to cover with 1 inch. Bring to a boil and boil for 10 minutes. Leave jars in hot water until ready to fill. Prior to filling, remove carefully and dry and place right side up on kitchen towel. Leave hot water in pot, for canning your jars. Place lids in a pot of simmering water for 10 minutes before filling jars.
4. Mix pectin with ¼ cup sugar.
5. Place the blueberries one layer at a time in a pie plate, remove stems or bruised berries. Crush and add to a bowl. Repeat for all berries.
6. Make the jam: place the crushed berries in a large pot and stir in the pectin / sugar mixture, lemon juice and water. Over medium to high heat (stirring often), bring to a boil (the kind that cannot be stirred away). Add the rest of the sugar, and then bring it back to a boil and boil hard for 1 minute.
7. Skim foam off, if necessary.
8. Fill jars: place funnel into jar. Using a ladle, carefully pour jam into jar leaving ¼” head space. Remove air bubbles with a plastic spatula, wipe the rim. Using a magnetic lid lifter, place a lid on the jar. Place rim on top and adjust to fingertip tight. Repeat for all jars.
9. Process the jars for long time storage: using the jar grabber carefully place filled jars in the large pot of hot water with rack ensuring jars are covered by 1 to 2 inches of water (you can add hot water from kettle to get to proper level). Place lid on pot. Bring water to gentle, steady boil. Boil jars for 10 minutes. Turn off heat, remove lid and let jars stand for 5 minutes.
10. Cool the jars: carefully remove the jars using the jar grabber and place on a kitchen towel or cooling rack. Let cool for 24 hours. After 24 hours, check lids for seal (lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed).
11. Label jars with ‘Jersey Fresh Blueberry Jam’ & date. Store in cool, dry place.
NOTE: You can simply jar, cool, and refrigerate the amount you plan to use right away. Canned jars are best used within 6 months.
Blueberry Pie
From the Rutgers University Press book “Chicken Foot Soup And Other Recipes from the Pine Barrens.”
Ingredients:
• 1 recipe pastry for a double-crust 9-inch pie
• 3 cups blueberries
• 3/4 cup honey 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425°.
Line a pie plate with pastry. Add berries, honey, and cornstarch in alternating layers.
Put on top crust and cut openings large enough to allow steam to escape.
Bake about 10 minutes in 425° oven, reduce heat to 350°, and bake for about 35 minutes.
Serves 6 to 8.
Blueberry Cobbler
Courtesy of Terhune Orchards and based on a recipe from Cooking Light magazine.
Ingredients:
Filling:
• 6 cups fresh blueberries
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp lemon zest
Topping:
• 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp kosher salt
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• 5 Tbsp chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 cup fat-free sour cream
• 3 Tbsp 2% reduced fat milk
• 1 tsp sugar
Directions:
Preheat over to 350 degrees
To prepare filling, combine first 4 ingredients in an 11×7 inch-baking dish. Stir to combine.
To prepare topping, lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles course meal. Stir in sour cream to form a soft dough. Drop dough by spoonfuls onto blueberry filling to form 8 dumplings. Brush dumplings with milk, sprinkle with the teaspoon sugar. Place baking dish on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until filling is bubbly and dumplings are lightly browned.
Serves 8.
Blueberry Pancakes
From Rutgers University’s New Jersey Agriculture Experiment Station’s “Blueberry Bulletin.”
Pancake Ingredients:
• 1 cup sifted flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 egg, well-beaten
• 2/3 cup milk
• 2 Tbsp. shortening, melted
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
Pancake Directions:
Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Combine beaten egg, milk and melted shortening. Add to the dry ingredients. Beat until mixture is smooth. Stir in washed blueberries. Drop batter from a tablespoon onto a hot griddle. Cook one side until puffed, full of bubbles, and cooked on the edges. Turn and cook on the other side. Makes about ten 3-inch cakes.
Blueberry Sauce Ingredients:
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. cornstarch
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. butter or margarine
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
Blueberry Sauce Directions:
Combine one-half cup of blueberries and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes. Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt in cup. Stir into hot berries. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils 1 minute. Add remaining berries and cook 3 minutes longer. Stir in butter or margarine and lemon juice. Serve warm or cold.
Makes approximately 1 1/2 cups sauce.
