Into the blue

BLUEBERRIES are definitely the ‘new black’ — it seems like every magazine and cookery article I’ve picked up in the past few weeks is extolling the virtues of this plump little berry.

In season from May to October, we’re told they are packed with vitamins C and E, manganese and dietary fibre and are low in calories and virtually fat-free.

Research shows them highly effective in destroying free radicals and they are credited with helping to strengthen eyesight. In addition, a substance called anthocyanin improves support structures in the entire vascular system and may help reduce cholesterol and protect against ovarian cancer. Blueberries also help prevent urinary tract infections.

Even though I enjoy blueberries, I am becoming increasingly cynical about each new wonder food, and while I love the juicy cultivated Irish berries, I still hanker for the tiny intensely flavoured wild bilberries, which we call herts or fraughans. They are in season for a short time, around the beginning of August, and can be picked from the low growing bilberry bushes on hilltops and mountain ranges. Because of their size, it takes ages to pick enough for a decent plateful, but it’s worthwhile for their bittersweet, intense flavour.

I wouldn’t dream of cooking fraughans. I’m convinced they taste best when lightly crushed, with a sprinkling of sugar and some rich pouring cream.

Ireland now grows about 20 tons of blueberries annually. A renowned Irish horticulturist, Dr Lamb, established Derryvilla, a blueberry farm in near Portarlington, Co Offaly in 1965 after he recognised the commercial potential of growing US varieties in Irish bog-land.

A colleague, John Seager, became involved with the pioneering work in 1977 and took over the plantations in 1995 — 20 acres at Derryvilla now produce 70% of Irish blueberries.

Visitors are welcome to pick their own blueberries on the farm daily — it is hoped there will be blueberries up to mid-September.

Our nearest source is Sunnyside Farm in Rathcormac, Co Cork, where John Howard added sulphur to 2½ acres of his land to get rid of the lime and create the correct pH for blueberries to thrive. This year, he produced about 3½ tons and will have frozen blueberries (as well as other berries) available from his shop every Saturday from 2pm-5pm during the off-season.

This year, the blueberries seem larger and plumper than ever, probably because of the abundance of rain throughout summer. I’ve been eating them in every possible way for the past few weeks but I was shocked to find that the blueberries in some local supermarkets are from Poland, while others come from Italy, and they’re almost twice the price of the Irish ones, in the middle of the season.

It’s high time we made our voices heard and voiced our support for shops and supermarkets who sell local food and condemn those who sell imported produce in the midst of the Irish season. We need more cooperation between producers and retailers — a bond of trust and a fair price.

* READERS can send an email to [e-mail] with the names of local shops or supermarkets which highlight local foods and I will be happy to publish them.