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It must be blueberry season in Michigan now since that's what I'm seeing at the grocery stores as of late. Haven't sampled the ones I bought yesterday, so I'm not sure yet how they stack up to NC and NJ berries. I wonder if there are any Michigan blueberry diehards out there.
I got some of these Michigan blueberries from Harris Teeter a few days ago. Just tried them. Flavor is good. Size is all over the place - some very tiny and even a little wrinkly, some medium sized. Found one stray stem still attached to one. Overall, they are pretty good blueberries, and I would eat them again.
Correction: I looked at the package more closely. They are not New Jersey grown blueberries. The blueberries were grown somewhere in North Carolina and distributed by Consalo Family Farms out of Egg Harbor City, NJ. I thought it was early for NJ blueberries!
I did not say produce, I said blueberries. For some reason, the soil in the southern part of New Jersey is perfect for growing blueberries. It is also the cranberry capital of the country; almost all cranberries you buy at Thanksgiving are there. I buy pints and pints of Cottle Farms blueberries every year, and while they are good, they tend to be more sour than the ones that hail from Hammonton, Glassboro, etc. in southern NJ. Same with the tomatoes. The soil there is very acidic and perfect for growing tomatoes.
There are things that grow best in different parts of the country due to the soil, weather, and other factors. It has nothing to do with being ignorant of farmers markets (which I go to regularly) or preferring less fresh food. It is about one specific item grown under optimal conditions elsewhere.
New Jersey isn't the cranberry capital of the country. I always thought my home state of Massachusetts was, but we're both wrong. The Bay State produces over 3 times the amount of the Garden State, and Ocean Spray has a processing plant in Middleboro, but Wisconsin produces over twice the amount of Massachusetts and also has an Ocean Spray plant. Who knew?
I did not say produce, I said blueberries. For some reason, the soil in the southern part of New Jersey is perfect for growing blueberries. It is also the cranberry capital of the country; almost all cranberries you buy at Thanksgiving are there. I buy pints and pints of Cottle Farms blueberries every year, and while they are good, they tend to be more sour than the ones that hail from Hammonton, Glassboro, etc. in southern NJ. Same with the tomatoes. The soil there is very acidic and perfect for growing tomatoes.
There are things that grow best in different parts of the country due to the soil, weather, and other factors. It has nothing to do with being ignorant of farmers markets (which I go to regularly) or preferring less fresh food. It is about one specific item grown under optimal conditions elsewhere.
NJ is not the "cranberry capital of the country". Not even close. That title belongs to Wisconsin where more than half of the country's cranberry harvest comes from. Massachusetts is in 2nd (producing less than half). NJ is a very distant third.
I'd bet most of these "NJ everything is better" folks wouldn't be able to tell the difference in a blind taste test for most products.
NC ranks 7th among states in blueberry production. NJ ranks 5th. I believe any fresh blueberry from east of the Mississippi will be better than a blueberry brought in from the west coast.
Look, I've got nothing against Cottle Farms' blueberries. But I found some blueberries at Aldi a few weeks ago that were from South Jersey, and there is NOTHING like NJ blueberries. Does anyone sell them on a regular basis here, and when do they hit the stores?
I’ll stick with the M&Ms from Mars based out of Hackettstown,NJ!!check out Hawk Hill/Wendell Blueberry or depending on where you live there are a ton of local farms. I remember visiting NJ for a # of years for work back in the 80s in a place called Middletown where the farms had some great quality produce and brought back some good memories so thanks for posting……Local ,local check out the Produce box as at my job we get a nice discount but don’t use it being here at the beach now. I think it’s better than HT,Aldi Target…Do have to say the ****ty Kitty can surprise you produce at times.
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