Happy National Blueberry Month

Blueberry fun facts, 10 of them…
If all the blueberries grown in North America in one year were spread out in a single layer, they would cover a four-lane highway that stretched from New York to Chicago. (Source: Food Almanac)

July is national blueberry month because that is the peak of the harvest season. 

Minnesota claims the blueberry muffin as its official state muffin. 

New Jersey claims the berry as its official state fruit. 

The blueberry is the official berry of Nova Scotia. 

The North American Blueberry industry ships more than 100 metric tons of fresh blueberries each year to Iceland, and more than 500 metric tons to Japan. (2005) 

Wild blueberries are grown on 60,000 acres in Maine, and 99% of this wild blueberry crop is frozen. (Although some of these are later canned). 

Early American colonists made grey paint by boiling blueberries in milk. 

Blueberries are the 2nd most important commercial berry crop in the United States, with a total crop value of nearly $850.9 million in 2012.  (Strawberries are number 1.) 

Native Americans once called them “star berries,” because the five points of blueberry blossoms make a star shape.