False Creek : Tiny Bites

Feasting on blueberries with the BC Blueberry Council and Nu

Leave a Comment Karen HamiltonJuly 28, 2009

Last night, several food bloggers in the city were invited for a 3-course berrylicious dinner at Nu, compliments of the BC Blueberry Council.

I count myself lucky to have been asked to come as my love affair with blueberries has already been well documented. Having blueberry advocates sell me on the benefits of eating what I consider to be one of my favourite summer treats seemed fairly redundant, but I wasn’t about to pass up a night of blueberry education and a chance to dine again at Nu.

It’s good that I went, because we learned some surprising facts about this fruit and its relationship with British Columbia:

Commercial blueberry production in BC started about 100 years ago on the peaty soils of Richmond and Pitt Meadows. Today, we boast 18,000 acres of blueberry farmland that produces approximately 90 million lbs of the fruit each season.
Our province is one of the largest grower of blueberries in the world, second only to the sales and production of Michigan state.
Commerical restaurants and bakers order specialized varieties of blueberry from processors. Apparently, certain strains are better for baking, and what you see at the grocery store is better for eating fresh. No wonder I could never truly replicate the blueberry pie at Savary Island!
BC farms grow several types of blueberries in the summer in order to have 3 production cycles (early, mid, and late summer crops) between July and late August.
The blueberry industry employs over 10,000 people in the province at the height of the growing season.

All of this was news to me. When I think of the bounty of BC, I think salmon, wine, spot prawns, and corn. Berries were something I always knew to be present in our summer crops, but never did I imagine that they represented such a hefty part of our regional economy.

But let’s get back to the food that I came across throughout the night.

Martini with Tanqueray, Earl Grey infused vodka, lillet, and blueberry puree.

Lemonade with muddled blueberries – the interaction of the fruit with acid results in the brilliant scarlet hue of these drinks.

Blueberry, watercress, and arugula sald with toasted walnuts, cucumber, and green apple.

I wasn’t in the mood for the bison or the marinated flat iron steak, both of which are presented with either a berry sauce or a blueberry jus. I opted for a crimini and oyster fricasée for my main. If I were you, I’d go to Nu this summer to try the blueberry mains.

Blueberry layer cake with macaron and blueberry compote, accompanied by a shot of blueberry froth. No acid in the froth, so it retained its periwinkle colour.

Have I made you crave blueberries now? Here are a few links to help you get a fix this week.

Go to UBC between 9am – 1pm today, Wednesday, and Thursday. The first annual Blueberry Festival is on – indulge in blueberry pancakes or buy baked treats before the Fest ends on the 30th.
Visit your favourite U-Pick farm and stain your hands harvesting ‘em. I recommend Driediger Farms or Krause Berry Farms, both of which I wrote about in my Circle Farm Tour of Langley.
Save some of your blueberry catch by freezing or canning them for later.
Try your hand at making these blueberry streusel muffins that we love to bake at this time of year.
If you prefer banana bread, spice it up with blueberries!
Browse through all the other things you can cook with blueberries on the BC Blueberry Council website.