Theme of the Month--July is National Blueberry Month

“Have blueberries whenever you are low – destiny will change and you will be high.” Adam Voichester

Happy National Blueberry Month! July is it, baby! It's all about that little blue fruit that finishes sweet and stains the tongue.

The blue ones are ripe.

The two main types of blueberries are--wild (small) and commercial (larger). I prefer to buy the frozen wild ones. They make a great pie (see below).

Wild berries are called "low-bush berries," because the wild bush lays closer to the ground than commercial berries ("high-bush berries").  There is also a hybrid "high-low" bush, but no one talks about it. It's hush hush. ;)

It is appropriate that blueberries are celebrated in July. That is their harvest time--late July through mid-August.

Oregon is known for having the best blueberries--both wild and commercial. I knew a couple who bought Oregon property and spent much time and effort to clear the land of solid, wild blueberry bushes.

Oh man! All. Those. Blueberries. Wasted! So sad. :(

As a suburban girl, I've never seen a blueberry bush. According to Wikipedia, the bushes flower.

Photograph by Kurt Stüber
GFDL License

You have to be careful with blueberries when they are turned into blueberry candy in a magical candy factory. A disaster happened to a friend of mine, Violet Beauregard, when she was a child. She ate some blueberry candy from said factory and POW--she grew into a fat, human blueberry! I'll never forget the callous statement of Willy Wonka, the factory owner, when he said,

"It happens every time. They all become blueberries." (Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, 1971).

Before I introduce you to my blueberry pie recipe, I must tell you about Adam Voichester. If you Google him, he is only known for one thing, the quote at the top of this article! That's it. It's his claim to fame. He may not even exist! Go ahead, Google Image him. He comes up various blueberry dishes, like this:

Adam Voichester

You see what I mean?

Okay...time for blueberry pie!

Denise's Easy Blueberry Pie

I use refrigerated pie crusts. The frozen ones are horrid. Stay away from them. But the refrigerated ones (like Pillsbury) are very good.

Blueberry Pie Filling:

4 c. fresh blueberries or other berries (this is 4 of the 6-8oz. containers they come in) OR 1 10-12 oz pkg. of frozen berries (the frozen wild blueberries are nice).

1 c. sugar                                      

1/4 cup cornstarch (this is 4 T)

¼ t. ground cinnamon (optional)

¼ t. ground nutmeg (optional)

1 T. lime juice (water if in a pinch)

2 T. butter (optional, I often don’t include it)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F  
2. Mix sugar, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg, then mix with blueberries.
3. Line pie dish (I use a 10-inch deep dish, but a 9-inch will do) with one pie crust. Pour berry mixture into the crust and dot with butter. 
4. Add the other pie crust on top. Crimp and flute edges, then cut four slits in the dough with a knife.
5. Place on cookie sheet and place in oven.

Bake pie on lower shelf of oven for about 50 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.

The best thing to do with a July harvest of blueberries!

MORE recipes for blueberries! Sally's Baking Addiction: Lemon Blueberry Layer Cake; Joy of Baking: Blueberry Trifle; Lemon Ice Cream Sandwiches with Blueberry Swirl; Fine Cooking: Blueberry Vanilla Cream Cheese Pies; Crazy for Crust: Blueberry Slab Pie; Pretty Fit Life: Blissful Blueberry-Baked Oatmeal; Hungry Rabbit: Everlasting Blueberry Almond Coffee Cake; She Wears Many Hats: Blueberry Pie Ice Cream; Eat at Home: Blueberry Butter; Wide Lawns and Narrow Minds: Your New Summer Cocktail: Blueberry Vodka Lemonade.

Blueberry has a Wiki Page. You may also enjoy reading these articles: Blueberries, Blueberries, Blueberries!; The History of Blueberries (Commercial, with more recipes!); The History of Blueberries (Wild).

Source Articles: Wikipedia; The Farmer's Almanac: Blueberries; IMDb Willy Wonka Quotes; iFood.tv Quotes.