# Do you find blueberry flavor very distinctive? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 17, 2010, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-blueberry-flavor-very-distinctive/547047 "2010-07-17T18:07:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-blueberry-flavor-very-distinctive/547047/1 "2010-07-17T18:07:45Z")
I picked up a quart of fresh blueberries yesterday, and the Mrs. and I already finished them off. Upon reflection however, both of us decided that while blueberries did have a certain recognizable flavor, it was not nearly so distinct as that of most other fruits, such as bananas, oranges, grapes, strawberries, etc. I went so far as to say that I wasn’t sure I could identify them on a blind taste testing, save that the best ones were both sweet and tart, like the candy. The Mrs. disagreed, saying she could identify a discrete flavor that she associated only with that particular fruit. What say you, dopers? Are you able to identify the ‘blueberry’ flavor? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-blueberry-flavor-very-distinctive/547047/2 "2010-07-17T18:14:05Z")
Always I can identify the flavor that is blueberry. And the food chemists are pretty good at fooling me when they mix up a batch of esters and purple food coloring and apply them to tiny chunks of apple, too. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-blueberry-flavor-very-distinctive/547047/3 "2010-07-17T18:15:57Z")
I don’t know. I was just about to click yes, but after reading your “blind taste testing” comment I thought about it further. Blindfolded, I think I might actually have a hard time determining any distinct flavour if the size and texture were removed from the equation. So I guess I’m an “Other.” ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-blueberry-flavor-very-distinctive/547047/4 "2010-07-17T18:16:47Z")
I can always identify blueberry. It has a very distinctive, unpleasant flavor to me. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-blueberry-flavor-very-distinctive/547047/5 "2010-07-17T18:29:55Z")
I actually like them, but **kaylasmom** usually identifies them by the aftertaste that shows up about half an hour later. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-blueberry-flavor-very-distinctive/547047/6 "2010-07-17T18:51:02Z")
I can recognize the flavor. What I wonder about, though… At a local festival a few years back, I bought a bottle of huckleberry-flavored pop (for those not familiar with them, huckleberries are basically wild blueberries). Looking at the ingredients, it was entirely artificially-flavored. So I have to ask: Is there really any difference between artificial huckleberry flavor and artificial blueberry flavor? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-blueberry-flavor-very-distinctive/547047/7 "2010-07-17T19:48:09Z")
Domesticated blueberries, not so much; I actually find them unpleasant and mushy most of the time and don’t eat them. But wild blueberries are another matter. They’ve got a very particular, strong flavor that I love. And when they’re baked into a pie, they’re absolutely unmistakable. A friend of mine thought he hated blueberries. But he was over at my house once when I made a pie from berries I’d picked up along the Blue Ridge Parkway. One bite was enough to convert him: now, like me, he just hates domesticated blueberries. ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-blueberry-flavor-very-distinctive/547047/8 "2010-07-17T20:17:50Z")
I"m glad I found this thread. I just ate my first fresh blueberry in a really long while. And I thought, “this doesn’t taste like anything.” So I asked a friend, and she said that she puts sugar on them so they taste like sugar. But other than some pulpiness on the inside and some tart on the outside, it doesn’t have much taste to me. Blueberry flavoring (the fake stuff) has a distinctive flavor, but fresh blueberries themselves don’t taste like that to me. I’m glad to see I’m not the only one who feels like that. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-blueberry-flavor-very-distinctive/547047/9 "2010-07-18T00:51:42Z")
Yes, but more so when they’re cooked. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-blueberry-flavor-very-distinctive/547047/10 "2010-07-18T00:57:36Z")
I think you hit it on the nail. It CAN be distinctive but not always. I think blueberries can be overpowered, a bit like pears. One of my favourite things is to mix raspberries and blueberries and you need about 2/3 blueberries to every 1/3 of raspberries to get a decent flavour mix ---
**Author:** ![toodlepip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/97f17d/32.png) [@toodlepip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toodlepip)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-blueberry-flavor-very-distinctive/547047/11 "2010-07-18T01:38:01Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Domesticated blueberries, not so much; I actually find them unpleasant and mushy most of the time and don’t eat them. > > But wild blueberries are another matter. They’ve got a very particular, strong flavor that I love. Second this. Wild blueberries are yummy, with a distinctive flavour. Cultivated blueberries have very little flavour, no acidity, and just taste watery. The same goes for raspberries. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-blueberry-flavor-very-distinctive/547047/12 "2010-07-18T01:43:52Z")
Blueberries definitely have a very distinctive flavor to me. My usual breakfast is fresh blueberries in plain unflavored yogurt, and it’s very, very different from the taste of plain yogurt alone. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-blueberry-flavor-very-distinctive/547047/13 "2010-07-18T01:48:27Z")
Blueberries taste like serviceberries or vice-versa. They’re good. The most distinctively flavored fruit to me are black raspberries. They don’t taste like red raspberries or blackberries at all. The lack of black raspberries 'round here almost makes me want to move back to Hoosierland! ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-blueberry-flavor-very-distinctive/547047/14 "2010-07-18T01:52:59Z")
Blueberries have a mild flavor. I think I would be hard pressed, if the color were removed, to identify a generic flavor as blueberry. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-blueberry-flavor-very-distinctive/547047/15 "2010-07-18T02:20:30Z")
I wouldn’t have thought so many people found blueberries so tasteless. Is it like a PTC paper thing? ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-blueberry-flavor-very-distinctive/547047/16 "2010-07-18T07:00:29Z")
Yeah I think it is distinctive. With that said, I don’t really like it too much and prefer the artificial blueberry flavor instead. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-blueberry-flavor-very-distinctive/547047/17 "2010-07-18T07:40:34Z")
Blueberries are one of my favorite fruits, and definitely have a distinct flavor. But this year they haven’t been consistent. I’ve gotten some that were somewhat tart, and others very sweet. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-blueberry-flavor-very-distinctive/547047/18 "2010-07-18T08:22:57Z")
Good ones are pretty distinctive, though I might get them confused with Concord grapes in a blind tasting. Maybe I nee taste bud surgery. ---
**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-blueberry-flavor-very-distinctive/547047/19 "2010-07-18T21:13:20Z")
I am extremely biased toward blueberries from NJ, which was instilled in me at a young age by my mother (who is from NJ). They’re consistently the most sweet and miles better than Florida, North Carolina, or Michigan blueberries, and they make the best pies. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-blueberry-flavor-very-distinctive/547047/20 "2010-07-18T21:21:57Z")
Well, I’m glad I’m not the only one whose sense of ‘blueberry’ flavor is a bit impaired. Even so, sweet and tart makes for an enjoyable fruit. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-blueberry-flavor-very-distinctive/547047.md?page=2)