Wild Blueberries in New Brunswick

[00:00:01] Welcome to New Brunswick Traveler, that place where we talk about New Brunswick

[00:00:06] Stuff. Today I'm going to be talking a little bit about a wild fruit that we

[00:00:12] have that I think you will enjoy. So sit back, have a cup of coffee with me if you

[00:00:20] would like and let's get started. Recently I was having breakfast at a

[00:00:30] hotel restaurant in Mississauga and I heard a person ask the waitress for

[00:00:35] blueberry jam. Well his actual statement was you forgot the blueberry jam and her

[00:00:43] reply was we don't have any. At that point I wondered if the same response would

[00:00:50] occur at a hotel restaurant in New Brunswick where I live. Blueberries are a

[00:00:56] big deal in New Brunswick particularly what is called the low bush or wild

[00:01:02] kind. Growing up in Indiana I was only familiar with the high bush cultivated

[00:01:08] kind, the ones that produce those large wonderful berries. I had encountered the

[00:01:15] low bush wild kind when my father would take me on a fishing trip to

[00:01:20] Ontario but I didn't realize that those wild blueberries were something that

[00:01:26] could be grown and sold commercially. I just enjoyed finding them along

[00:01:32] with the small wild strawberries. Quebec is the leader in blueberry production in

[00:01:38] Canada followed by British Columbia where 96% of the high bush cultivated berries

[00:01:45] is growing. New Brunswick ranks second in Canada in low bush blueberries. Much

[00:01:52] of the production is in the northeastern part of the province. The

[00:01:56] Acadian Peninsula is known for its picturesque landscapes and abundant

[00:02:02] blueberry fields. I'm grateful that about 20% of the production is in the

[00:02:08] southern part of the province though because that's where I live. While

[00:02:13] blueberries are native to Canada and have grown naturally here for centuries

[00:02:19] they were an important food source for Indigenous people and early European

[00:02:26] settlers who would harvest the berries from the wild. As European colonization

[00:02:32] expanded, wild blueberries became a familiar and inexpensive food that was easy

[00:02:40] to gather. Currently there are over 300 wild blueberry producers in New

[00:02:47] Brunswick. For the most part they're located in the coastal regions where the

[00:02:52] plant occurs naturally and where the moderating effect of the ocean reduces

[00:02:59] the risk of frost. In 2021 the wild blueberry industry here contributed

[00:03:06] $81 million to the provincial GDP. This is one of the few New Brunswick

[00:03:12] agricultural commodities whose primary market focus is global with 80% of it

[00:03:20] being sold internationally. The farm gate value is about $20 million annually.

[00:03:27] The crop's considered an excellent way to diversify the coastal economies.

[00:03:34] Since the wild blueberries grow naturally there isn't much cultivation

[00:03:38] that's needed. Just move the trees off the property and let the

[00:03:43] blueberries grow. Well not really but I wanted to make it sound easy. Canada's

[00:03:51] native peoples would burn wild blueberry fields periodically to renew the stand.

[00:03:58] Modern wild blueberry management consists of a two-year cycle in the

[00:04:03] fall of the second year or in the spring of the first year. The fields

[00:04:08] are pruned. This can either be by burning or more than likely will be done with a

[00:04:15] mower. Pruning results in the outgrowth of news shoots with berries being

[00:04:20] produced in the second year. With good management practices the provincial

[00:04:27] average has grown from 1200 pounds an acre to 4,000 pounds or more. A few

[00:04:35] weeks ago I was following the hiking trail that went right through a wild

[00:04:39] blueberry field. Did I taste a couple? Yep I did. Here in New Brunswick most of

[00:04:47] the harvesting is done with a machine. Would take way too long to have someone

[00:04:53] rake those fields and harvest by hand. When I take a tour guide to St. Andrews

[00:05:05] and I go to the Blueberry stand in Penfield and I point out to those traveling

[00:05:11] with me that it's a great place to purchase six blueberry muffins and a pie.

[00:05:17] In season McKay sells over 300 berry pies a day. In my case the pie will

[00:05:25] always be blueberry and red raspberry. I point out to those traveling with

[00:05:32] me that my wife always corrects me saying red raspberry is redundant. But I grew

[00:05:41] up on an Indiana farm where we had dark blue almost black raspberries that

[00:05:47] grew right next to the blackberries. I liked to eat the raspberries but the

[00:05:53] blackberries were much too tart for me. I never saw a red raspberry until I

[00:05:59] moved to Michigan in the 1970s. The black raspberries tend to be smaller than the

[00:06:06] red ones and are often used in pies and jams. They have a richer flavor than the

[00:06:12] red ones. In fact when I first began eating the red ones they sort of tasted

[00:06:18] like medicine. So I will continue to add red to my mention of the raspberries

[00:06:24] that I find in New Brunswick. I also mentioned to the tour group that only

[00:06:31] four of those muffins actually leave the McKay parking lot in the container.

[00:06:37] I've already eaten two before I even start the car. Only about five percent

[00:06:45] of the crop is sold fresh. Most of it is frozen and the largest markets are

[00:06:51] industrial, hospitality and institutional. The production of these wild blueberries

[00:06:57] have doubled in the last decade and the market has expanded sufficiently to

[00:07:03] absorb the increase. One of the keys to a successful crop is having an

[00:07:08] adequate number of bees to pollinate the plants both honeybees and

[00:07:15] bumblebees. Large operations may use tens of thousands of hives. For example

[00:07:22] Oxford frozen foods uses over 60,000 hives across their operations in New

[00:07:29] Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Maine. But even with all these beehives the addition

[00:07:38] of wild bees is also an important source particularly those bumblebees. I am happy

[00:07:46] that I live in an area where fresh wild blueberries are available at the local

[00:07:51] farm stand. While McKay's blueberries is my go-to place on the way to St. Andrews

[00:07:59] Hawkins Farms and Granite Town Farms are also in that same area and if I'm

[00:08:05] traveling the opposite direction from St. John Ramsey's blueberries is located

[00:08:12] in Petticoatiac. These actually are high bush berries so would be a good

[00:08:20] option for people who want to pick their own. They're currently selling at

[00:08:24] $3.65 a pound. The wild blueberry flavor feast was held the end of

[00:08:32] August in New Brunswick. This festival celebrates the arrival of fresh wild

[00:08:39] blueberries. It features partnerships with over 160 restaurants and bed and

[00:08:45] breakfasts across the province highlighting dishes, desserts and

[00:08:51] drinks that incorporate wild blueberries as a key ingredient. The festival also

[00:08:56] plays an important role in reinforcing the economic and health benefits of

[00:09:02] wild berries. I have to make sure that I mentioned the festival early enough next

[00:09:08] year that you can participate. The great taste of New Brunswick wild blueberries

[00:09:14] is enough to get you to find one of the featured restaurants but those berries

[00:09:21] also have health benefits. They are good for your brain, heart and vision

[00:09:26] and even help with diabetes and cancer prevention. If you haven't tried a wild

[00:09:33] blueberry you should. There's a richness to the wild blueberries that you just

[00:09:40] don't get with the cultivated kind. Thank you for taking the time to come and

[00:09:52] listen to this podcast today. It's produced, edited and hosted by me, Mark Brewer.

[00:10:01] And it's commercial free except for the fact you could go to my website and buy

[00:10:07] me a cup of coffee if you care to. For now have a good day.