With blueberries available year-round, it's easy to forget that they have a season let alone unique flavor profiles. "I've had this experience of buying conventional blueberries and saying, 'Why am I eating this? What am I getting out of this?'" says Uli Nasibova of Uli's Gelato.
When she stumbled upon seasonal blueberries from Murray Family Farms, her world opened to a new flavor. Each berry tastes like an individual plum, she says, and she has been buying from the farm for 11 years.
To get rid of any impurities, Uli soaks her blueberries, which have high pH levels, in lemon juice. A frozen sorbet preserves the freshness of the fruit, pureeing the fruit with the skin on. Her sorbet consists of up to 40% blueberries, a much higher percentage than you'd find in a conventional brand. Uli's Gelato is available at Whole Foods in Southern California and at Lazy Acres.
Forbidden Fruit Orchards in Lompoc grows two varieties of blueberries. Photo courtesy of Forbidden Fruit Orchards.
Lalo Vaquez brings blueberries to market from Forbidden Fruit Orchards in Lompoc. The Emerald and Sapphire varieties are both available, with differences in flavor, texture, and size. The Sapphires are smaller bushes up to four feet in width, while the Emeralds can reach up to seven feet. While the plants on the farm are two decades old, Lalo says a blueberry bush can live for nearly 50 years.
Blueberry season has started later this year because of rain and cooler temperatures, which inhibits the ripening of the fruit. Off to a late start, Lalo says the blueberries will be available for four months and will return in the fall.