Native Wild Blueberries: Nature's Gift from Maine |
Acadia National Park (©photo by Charlie Wrenn, courtesy of morgueFile.com)
Nature's Gift from Maine!
The Wild Blueberry holds a special place in Maine's history, one that goes back centuries to the state's Native Americans. They were the first to use the tiny blue berries, both fresh and dried, for their flavor, their nutrition, and their healing qualities.
Unlike the larger cultivated blueberries usually sold in supermarkets, Wild Blueberries are tiny and really are wild; having crept over Maine's rocky land naturally, creating hundreds of thousands of bushes. Indigenous Wild Blueberries now grow in fields and barrens that stretch from Downeast to the state's Southwest corner.
Adapted to Maine's naturally acid, low fertility soils and challenging winters, Wild Blueberries are a low input crop requiring minimal management. The berries are grown on a two-year cycle — each year, half of a grower's land is managed to encourage vegetative growth and the other half is prepared for a Wild Blueberry harvest in August.
Rich in Antioxidants
All it takes is a half-cup of Wild Blueberries to deliciously satisfy one of the recommended "five-a-day" servings of colorful fruits and vegetables. Some of the most powerful antioxidants are highly concentrated in the deep blue pigments of Wild Blueberries. What's more, Wild Blueberries contain more antioxidants than their cultivated cousins. Antioxidants are the "natural zappers" of free radicals; the unstable oxygen molecules associated with cancer, heart disease, and the effects of aging. USDA studies have measured the antioxidant activity of more than 40 fruits and vegetables and ranked blueberries #1.
Bar Harbor Jam Company
The Bar Harbor Jam Company was started in 1989, as a winter project at the Cottage Street Bakery in Bar Harbor, Maine. Since then the company has become famous for the way it’s been crafting its Maine Wild Blueberry Jam and preparing its Wild Blueberry Pies. Today, the company's kitchen is located on beautiful Mount Desert Island, Home of Acadia National Park and near the center of Wild Blueberry barrens.
The Bar Harbor Jam Company uses only the finest selection of 100% natural native berries to ensure the best possible taste. When you eat Bar Harbor Jam you come to know why Maine’s Wild Blueberries are so special. To these delicious indigenous berries, they add only the highest quality ingredients and mix them in small, hand-made batches to ensure their quality and to enhance their taste. There are no preservatives added.
The owners; Bob, Greg, Mike and Pat, along with Robin and the rest of the fine staff, are committed to delivering superior quality by continuing a great tradition of hand-making products from the finest ingredients. It’s all home-made right on Mount Desert Island!
To purchase some splendid products from the Bar Harbor Jam Company go to any of the following:
Deluxe Wild Blueberry Gift Basket
Maine's Wild Blueberry & Rhubarb Jam
Strawberry & Rhubarb Jam from Maine
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