Feeling Berry Blue right now?

Nov. 9, 2010 - PRLog -- There are many fruits in the world but one has recently become more popular and is very beneficial for you.  You're probably  wondering what fruit it is as there are many that fall under the category  but unlike its name it won't leave you blue.  The fruit is Blueberry, yes the small blue pea sized fruit is on the rise throughout the world.

Blueberries are also known as bilberries, whortleberries, and hurtleberries but they obviously got their well known name thanks to the blue colour that they have.  This fruit is part of the Ericaceae family which other members are cranberries and huckleberry.  The latter which look very similar to Blueberries but have a diverse range of colours of blues and purples and while blueberries have lots of small seeds huckleberries have larger seeds which in turn makes hem hard to eat outright.  Most of the fruit of this type requires acidy soil in order for good growth and reproduction.  There are three regional categories of the plant.  There is the low bush, High bush and Southern Rabbiteye, these represent the type of bush that the berries grow on.

North America measures up to 90% of blueberries produced in the world, which also means that they are the largest consumers of the little berry.  Maine is the number one distributor in America accounting up to 25% percent of all low bush blueberries, which means that it is the place that is the largest blueberry producer in the world so don't be surprised to see them in the backyard of many Maine home rentals.  It is quite interesting though as the crop in Maine needs at least 50,000 beehives for pollination, and said beehives needed to transported from in from various other neighbouring states.  The wild blueberry is the official fruit of Maine and is also considered the symbol along with the lobster of the state.  In fact the Blueberry industry in Maine amounts up to $250 million which makes them a huge contribution to the economy and thanks to the recent research about the fruit which has lead to the increase in popularity the demand is growing.  Other countries have also shown an interest in the fruit and it can be found in various places all over the world.  Various countries in Europe such as France, Austria and Italy, also countries in South America such as Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, and other countries around the world such as South Africa and New Zealand.

Not many people know about the health benefits of the little fruit.  The little berries have the highest antioxidant out of any fresh fruit.  This is a fruit that has been shown to help decrease the risk of cancer, prevent heart disease and strokes by lowering the build up of cholesterol that isn't good for you, helps guide against Alzheimer's and diseases, can help relieve arthritis, boost your immune system and help with your vision.  Quite surprising for the little fruit isn't it.

They are very popular with be it the actual berries or a nice sweet sauce but also within pancakes as they are mixed into the batter before made into the flat cakes.  There are many other forms that you can find are associated with a Blueberry are purée, juice, jelly, jam, pie, muffin, and cereals.  So its not hard to see why this fruit is popular.