# Blueberries
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blueberries/630247
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [August 3, 2012, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blueberries/630247 "2012-08-03T02:36:46Z")
**Posts on this page:** 16
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2012, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blueberries/630247/1 "2012-08-03T02:36:46Z")
So when I thumb through gardening catalogs, I’m always mildly disconcerted that blueberries having the exact opposite qualities than I’d prefer are apparently supposed to be extra appealing considering the positive wording of the ads. I like going to a nearby farm so I can pick exactly the size I prefer.
But hey, maybe I’m odd. Let’s see!
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### Author:  [@Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speak_to_me_Maddie)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2012, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blueberries/630247/2 "2012-08-03T02:39:15Z")
I like a mixed bag, a sweet bite, a tart bite, back and forth.
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### Author:  [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2012, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blueberries/630247/3 "2012-08-03T02:40:01Z")
Either one, so long as it has a flavor. (Unfortunately, the tasteless mushy ones seem to be more abundant).
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### Author:  [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2012, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blueberries/630247/4 "2012-08-03T02:43:09Z")
I said small and tart, because that’s what I tend to associate with wild berries. But occasionally I’ll come across a wild bush with giant berries that taste like love. Those are my favorite.
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### Author:  [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2012, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blueberries/630247/5 "2012-08-03T02:44:04Z")
The big ones tend to get mushy and flavorless, but not all of them.
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### Author:  [@Skara\_Brae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skara_Brae)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2012, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blueberries/630247/6 "2012-08-03T02:45:47Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Blueberries as big as the end of your thumb,
> Real sky-blue, and heavy, and ready to drum
> In the cavernous pail of the first one to come!
> And all ripe together, not some of them green
> And some of them ripe! You ought to have seen!
Sorry, this always pops into my head when talking blueberries. I do like them big and juicy.
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### Author:  [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2012, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blueberries/630247/7 "2012-08-03T02:49:42Z")
> [@Skara\_Brae](#):
>
> Sorry, this always pops into my head when talking blueberries. I do like them big and juicy.
My first thought upon seeing the choices was “I like blueberries like I like my women”…small and tart for me.
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2012, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blueberries/630247/8 "2012-08-03T03:21:04Z")
Wild vs farmed. One thing I miss about Alaska is our annual berry-picking expedition. The farmed berries here are singularly tasteless.
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2012, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blueberries/630247/9 "2012-08-03T03:39:07Z")
Small and tart. Because the alternative is big and flavorless.
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### Author:  [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2012, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blueberries/630247/10 "2012-08-03T13:33:14Z")
In my experience, small wild blueberries are usually sweeter than big bland tame blueberries, so I’m a bit confused by the options.
At any rate, I vote for “not my favourite fruit, but I’m not disgusted by them”.
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### Author:  [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2012, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blueberries/630247/11 "2012-08-03T14:18:38Z")
> [@hogarth](#):
>
> In my experience, small wild blueberries are usually sweeter than big bland tame blueberries, so I’m a bit confused by the options.
I thought that too and was also confused. I can’t think that I’ve ever had a blueberry I’d describe as “tart” that wasn’t obviously underripe. Wild berries are usually VERY sweet, like the same sweetness as a commercial blueberry, packed into a tinier container.
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2012, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blueberries/630247/12 "2012-08-03T14:41:00Z")
> [@TriPolar](#):
>
> Small and tart. Because the alternative is big and flavorless.
Same here. The small and tart ones make for better pies, too. There is more flavor and a better balance between the sweetness of a pie (because of all the sugar you have to add) and the acidity of the berry. Then again, I’ve always been one for tart berries of all kinds.
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### Author:  [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blueberries/630247/13 "2012-08-03T15:25:48Z")
> [@Ludovic](#):
>
> My first thought upon seeing the choices was “I like blueberries like I like my women”…small and tart for me.
I like blueberries like I like my men . . . big, sweet and juicy, but sometimes a little tart.
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### Author:  [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2012, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blueberries/630247/14 "2012-08-03T15:42:53Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#):
>
> I thought that too and was also confused. I can’t think that I’ve ever had a blueberry I’d describe as “tart” that wasn’t obviously underripe. Wild berries are usually VERY sweet, like the same sweetness as a commercial blueberry, packed into a tinier container.
Add me as a third on this. I love tiny wild blueberries but they are little balls of sweet flavour I wouldn’t characterize them as tart.
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### Author:  [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2012, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blueberries/630247/15 "2012-08-03T16:11:03Z")
I like the sweet ones more, but I’m not going to get bent out of shape if I get a sour one because, hey it’s a blueberry.
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### Author:  [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)
#### Post date: [August 3, 2012, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blueberries/630247/16 "2012-08-03T19:49:06Z")
Never liked 'em. Just the smell makes me want to hurl.