Ready for Florida’s blueberry season? What to know about the sweet & juicy fruit
Produce shelves at the grocery store are filled right now with Florida-grown blueberries that are hitting their peak sweetness and juiciness.
The state’s blueberry season runs from late February through early May. The eighth-largest blueberry producer in the country, Florida is the first state each year to go to market with domestic blueberries and produces about 20 million pounds per season on 5,700 acres, according to the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
Good news: The institute reports an abundant crop this year.
“Last season, Florida production was down, primarily due to damage from Hurricane Ian in the southern part of the state,” said Doug Phillips, the institute’s statewide blueberry extension coordinator. “In the current Florida blueberry season, production looks very good across the state.”
UF scientists have bred Florida blueberries for several traits, including flavor, firmness, shelf life, harvestability and disease resistance. The university has developed 13 types of southern highbush blueberries by crossing northern highbush varieties with wild Florida blueberries, with a goal of creating plants able to withstand Florida’s hot, humid climate.
Although there are multiple varieties, it’s hard for the consumer to tell the difference as the berries are merged by fruit packers.
“The existing practice for Florida fruit marketers and packers is to commingle blueberries from the farms from which they receive fruit,” Phillips said. “Each clamshell of blueberries probably contains berries from multiple southern highbush varieties.”
It’s a little easier to tell the differences among strawberries, which have an assortment of colors, sizes and tastes. Peak Florida strawberry season ends this month.
Although blueberry-picking is a treasured family activity in some parts of the country, Phillips was unaware of any blueberry farms in southeast Florida. He said blueberry farms are located primarily near Ocala, Gainesville, Tallahassee and Pensacola.
Still, consumers can make an effort to buy Florida-grown blueberries by finding the “Fresh from Florida” label on the container. Ask your produce manager to point out blueberries from the Sunshine State.