Natural form

Fresh blueberries showing characteristic deep blue-purple skin and pale powdery bloom.

Teaches the reader to identify blueberries by their distinctive color, waxy bloom, size, and the star-shaped calyx crown at the tip.

Produce

Blueberry

Plump, sweet-tart berries for baking, breakfast, and snacking

Bursting with sweet-tart juice, blueberries fold into muffins and pancakes, top yogurt, and snack straight from the punnet. Keep them dry and cold until you eat them.

Blueberries are plump little orbs of sweet-tart juice with a faint floral note and a satisfying pop — one of the few berries that's as good cooked as raw and that keeps relatively well. They burst into muffins and pancakes, fold into yogurt and oatmeal, cook down to a glossy compote, and snack straight from the box. Their natural dusty 'bloom' is a freshness sign, not dirt, and a quick toss in flour keeps them from sinking in batter.

Measured in: g
Storage: Refrigerate
Shelf life: 7 days

Find it in

Produce

Types & varieties

Highbush

The common large cultivated blueberry sold in stores

Lowbush (wild)

Tiny, intense, more flavorful; often sold frozen

Rabbiteye

Southern variety; larger, firmer, later season

How to choose

Want plump, firm, deep-blue berries with a uniform silvery-white 'bloom' (a natural protective coating that signals freshness — don't wash it off until eating). They should be dry and loose in the box, not wet, clumped, or stained. Avoid shriveled, soft, green-tinged, or moldy berries; check the bottom of the container for crushed ones.

How to store

Keep blueberries dry and unwashed in the fridge in a breathable container, and they'll last a week or more — longer than most berries. Wash only just before eating, since moisture hastens mold. They freeze excellently: spread on a tray to freeze loose, then bag, and use straight from frozen.

Refrigerate dry and unwashed
They keep longer than other berries
Freeze loose on a tray, then bag

How to bake with them

To stop blueberries sinking to the bottom of muffins and cakes, toss them in a spoonful of the recipe's flour before folding in — the coating helps suspend them. Frozen berries work in baking; don't thaw them first (and consider a quick flour toss) to limit purple streaking. For a compote, simmer with a little sugar and lemon until some burst and the rest stay whole.

Common uses

Blueberry muffins and pancakesBlueberry pie and cobblerCompote and sauceIn yogurt, oatmeal, and granolaSmoothiesSaladsJamLemon-blueberry cake

Tips & pitfalls

Don't rinse off the silvery bloom until you're about to eat — it's freshness, not dirt
Toss in flour before folding into batter so they don't sink
Use frozen berries straight from the freezer in muffins (don't thaw)
Lemon zest and juice make blueberry flavor pop
Simmer into a quick compote for pancakes and yogurt

Nutrition

57kcal

Energy

238 kJ · per 100 g

Where the calories come from

Protein 5%Carbs 91%Fat 5%

Protein

0.7g

1% DV

Carbs

14.5g

5% DV

Fat

0.3g

0% DV

Fiber

2.4g

9% DV

Sugars

10g

of which

Sodium

1mg

0% DV

Notable micronutrients

Vitamin K16% DV

Vitamin C11% DV

Vitamin E4% DV

Thiamin (B1)3% DV

Riboflavin (B2)3% DV

Niacin (B3)3% DV

Source · USDA FoodData Central · Blueberries, raw

View on FDC →

In the shops

Matched grocery products

Blueberries
225 g · Mercadona
€3.20
Blueberries
500 g · Mercadona
€6.00
Ecological Blueberries in Terrine 125g
LA COLLITA · kg · Bonpreu
€2.99
LA COLLITA Nabius Terrine 170 g
LA COLLITA · kg · Bonpreu
€2.59

Good to know

Peak season: Summer (June–August)
Flavor: Sweet-tart, mildly floral; juicy with a gentle pop
Origin: North America; one of the few native cultivated fruits
Nutrition: ~57 kcal/100g; antioxidants (anthocyanins), vitamins C, K, fiber
How to buy: Plump, firm, deep blue with silvery bloom; dry; no shriveling or mold

Substitutes