When I was small, I used to pick blueberries with my grandmother—not so unusual, I’m sure. But instead of picking them in a lush, pastoral landscape dotted with farms and rolling hills, we’d scour an old cemetery in the heart of nickel-mining country in northern Ontario, Canada, a region as barren as the moon. Yet scattered across the rocky manmade tundra were wild diamonds—blueberries. They grew on bushes so low to the ground that the fierce northern winds howled right past, and so tough and sturdy that you might have thought their stubborn roots plunged to the center of the earth. But the berries were as tiny as sugar peas and as sweet as jam. A handful, still warm from the sun, was bliss; a whole pie was unspeakable.

如今，我经常无法使用野生蓝莓，但是幸运的是，栽培的蓝莓总是在附近。然而，夏季浆果与其他任何时候之间的风味，质地和强度有明显的差异。因此，我制作蓝莓甜点的第一个规则是忠于季节。等到夏天购买它们，然后尝试从当地生产商那里购买。

寻找丰满，无皱纹的蓝莓，没有霉菌，腐烂或压碎的迹象。They should be evenly dark bluish purple with little or no green or white. Store the berries loosely covered at room temperature for up to a day. For any longer than that, they keep best in the refrigerator; line a shallow container with paper towels, put the berries in a single layer, and cover with more paper towels. Wash blueberries only at the last minute and blot them dry with paper towels.

A happy marriage with nuts, fruit, and cream

我喜欢蓝莓的是它们复杂的甜味和淡淡的酸味。除柠檬外，它们的味道是其他水果，例如橙子，香蕉，酸橙和杏子的不错的匹配，它们与大多数其他浆果，尤其是覆盆子，草莓和黑莓家族成员完美地结婚。榛子，杏仁和山核桃是完美的伴侣，坚果的丰富度平衡了水果的味道。我发现白巧克力比黑巧克力更好地搭配蓝莓，而且我经常将两者结合在一起。奶油奶酪，蛋ust，鲜奶油以及几乎任何其他甜点友好的乳制品都是水果的绝佳箔。最后，蓝莓的淡淡酸味使它们与有趣的甜味剂（如枫糖浆，蜂蜜和红糖或生糖）时特别好。

蓝莓有两个好奇的风味盟友：肉桂和柠檬。有时，我在蓝莓甜点中添加了这些调味剂中的一种，给我一个柠檬蓝莓派馅料或蓝莓蛋糕棒。但是您甚至不需要走那么远。只有一点点 - 柠檬挤压或少许肉桂 - 富含浆果的果味味，就像香草提取物相同的方式补充巧克力。在成品甜点中无法检测到如此少量的肉桂或柠檬，但它会增加可感知的深度和复杂性。即使在不要求的食谱中，我几乎总是添加一个或另一个，通常两者都对结果感到满意。

You might wonder why my recipes forice cream,酒吧, andsauceall involve cooking the berries. What you lose in freshness and visual appeal (the berries go from indigo blue to indigo black), you make up for in flavor. As the blueberries cook, whether they’re on the stovetop or in the oven, some of their water evaporates, thereby concentrating the fruit’s sweetness and flavor.

Tips for baking with frozen blueberries

Fresh blueberries freeze brilliantly, and individually quick frozen (IQF) berries of both wild and cultivated varieties are widely available. IQF means the berries have been frozen individually rather than as a large clump, which makes them perfect for baking.

To freeze your own “IQF” berries, scatter clean, dry berries in a single layer on a baking sheet. Freeze on the sheet until the fruit is solid-and then transfer the berries quickly to freezerproof bags or containers. Use within four to six months.

For most recipes, you shouldn’t thaw the berries before using them. The thin skins tend to all but disintegrate, leaving a purple, juicy mess where lovely berries once sat.

将它们轻轻而迅速地混合成面糊，使用尽可能少的笔触，以免粉碎水果并转动面糊的薰衣草。

For blueberry pancakes, cook the pancake on-one side and sprinkle on the frozen berries just before flipping.

在某些面糊中，冷冻的蓝莓可以使面糊的绿色阴影条纹。这发生在碱性条件下，例如带有发酵粉的面糊，没有酸性成分，例如酪乳，酸奶或柠檬汁。为了最大程度地降低这种风险，请确保浆果牢固地冷冻并轻轻地将其混合。