Did you
know it was a woman who first thought of domesticating blueberries? That’s
right Elizabeth White (1871-1954) was crazy about blueberries and dreamed of
someday having fields of succulent blueberries to eat, according to Deborah Payne of
the US Highbush Blueberry Council during an interview at the 17th
Americas Food and Beverage Show in Miami, Florida.
 |
| Deborah Payne of US Highbush Blueberry Council, 17th Americas Food & Beverage Show, Miami, Fla. Copyright 2014 by Helen A Lockey |
In 1906,
White began gathering wild blueberry cuttings from plants that she liked. She
was looking for succulent berries that were bright colored, thin skinned,
sweet, plump, and juicy. She got a local woodsman to help her identify bushes
in the New Jersey Pine Barrens.
Then in
1911 she read a report by botanist Dr. Frederick V. Coville that talked about
his experiments with Highbush blueberries. She was so fascinated she contacted
him and they started working together to cross-pollinate plants to find develop the ideal blueberry.
In 1916
White found the variety she liked the best. She then harvested 600
quarts and shipped the United States's first commercial crop to customers. The
blueberries were called Tru-Blu berries and were packaged in brown paper
secured with sticky tape.
Several
years later she changed the packaging to cellophane so customers could see what
they were purchasing.
 |
| US Highbush Blueberry Council's dried blueberries, 17th Americas Food & Beverage Show, Miami, Fla. Copyright 2014 by Helen A Lockey |
Thanks to
White and the other originators of cultivated commercial Highbush blueberries
we now have a berry that has a strong flavor, is a bright blue color, and tastes pleasant.
To find out
more about the US Highbush Blueberry Council you can go to http:///www.ushbc.org
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