American Indians use of blueberry

Although blueberries grow in Asia and Europe, it is the wild highbush American variety a staple of the diet of many American Indians, which was domesticated in the United States at the turn of the century.

According to Native American blueberry is good for health. It was one of the most important foods and medicines for the Indian people in the old days. It helps the woman during childbirth, the tea leaves were good for kidneys and the juice was good for cough.

Native American also dried his leave in sun and ground it into powder and uses it to make pudding and it was used to season the meat. They also added dried or fresh blueberries to soups and stews.

The French explorer Samuel de Champlain reported in the early 1600s that Indians living near what is now called Lake Huron made blueberry pudding.

They mixed powdered, dried berries with water, cornmeal, and wild honey.

The settlers also found that the Indians smoked wild blueberries during winter to preserve them.

The Native American tribes revered blueberries and folklore developed around them. The blossom end of each berry, the calyx, forms the shape of a perfect five-pointed star; the elders of the tribe would tell of how the Great Spirit sent "star berries" to relieve the children's hunger during a famine.

Utilized as a restorative by Indian people for years, blueberry tea was soon relied upon by Colonial women as a tonic during childbirth.
American Indians use of blueberry

Blueberries in United States

Blueberries grow many parts of the world. Farmers also grow blueberries. Blueberries are harvested from both wild plants and cultivated varieties.

In the United States, blueberry cultivation is mainly in New Jersey, Michigan, the Pacific Northwest and North Carolina. The United States and Canada produce more than 89% of the blueberries harvest throughout the world and also lead in advancing the blueberry as a commercial fruit.

Blueberry bushes require an acid soil and yield fruit the first year after planting or the first year after the plants has established growth.

There are many varieties of both high and low bush blueberries. The fruit of blueberry ripens 50-65 days after the blossom occur at the mill where small twigs and leaves are separated by air.

Rabbit eye blueberry grow in the southern United States and are generally processed rather than marketed fresh.

While high-bush blueberries produce large, firm, light blueberries – the type most often found in grocery stores.

The season for fresh blueberries in the United States is May though June in the southern states and from June though September in the northern states.

The consumer demand for blueberry has increased significantly over the past three decades due to favorable publicity related to the health benefits of blueberries.

Blueberries in United States