Two things I didn't know about blueberries

First off, blueberries are excellent with peanut butter. As in a peanut-butter-and-fresh-whole-blueberry sandwiches. I stumbled upon this yesterday with little in the house but, what else? Bread, peanut butter and blueberries. Delicious I tell you! So much so that I purposely bought more blueberries today and made myself another tonight. (I used just one piece of bread yesterday, and repeated that today as well. The folding of said bread into a half-sandwich taco like shape keeps the blueberries from squeezing out. (Note: I use plain old peanut butter--just mashed up peanuts. No salt, no sugar, nada. Not Jiff or Skippy or any of that. Just peanuts.)

I have high hopes for strawberries and perhaps even peaches. I am at a loss as to why I never did this before. I love sliced apples and peanut butter. Why have other fruits been off limits? I love PB&J sandwiches. Why didn't I ever make the leap from jam to fresh fruit? I'm dismayed by my lack of basic foodie creativity. For shame!

Second, and even more surprising, the inside of a blueberry is not blue. Rather, it looks just like a green/white grape. Before you label me too much of a greenhorn, hear me out. You see, for reasons better explained another time, I grew up with a bizarre, fairly narrow mix of fruits and vegetables in my house. Canned green beans, frozen corn (on or off the cob) and frozen broccoli were our veggies. Sometimes fresh carrots made it into a caldillo or a pot roast, and later onto a plate with a MOUNTAIN of ranch dip. I didn't see asparagus or artichokes until I was in college. And brussels sprouts barely appeared on the scene two years ago when I ordered them on a whim and almost sent them back, having expected the kind of stringy things that I'd seen on health nuts' sandwiches.

Fruits were more varied, but for some reason berries other than strawberries never made it to the plate. The same with red grapes. I wonder if my mom had a problem with jewel toned fruits. Maybe it was simple lack of availability or high cost. Whatever the reason, the only blueberries I ever saw were the kind that come with a box of blueberry muffin mix in a little metal tin. In actuality, these hardly qualify as blueberries. They are teeny tiny and doused in a purple syrupy goodness, but true blueberries they ceased to be long ago. And as for the blueberries I started seeing in restaurants a few years back--swimming in raspberry glazes drizzled next to slices of chocolate cake--I never actually bit or sliced one in half (just popped 'em in my mouth whole don't you know?) and it simply never occurred to me that blueberries weren't blue through and through.

Tonight, after a few bites of my lovely PB&B, I glanced down at the sandwich and stopped short. 'What the hell is that? Is that...are those the blueberries?' I looked closer. 'Is there something wrong with them?' I looked again, then gingerly picked one with a torn skin to sample. Of course it was fine and I enjoyed a moment of pleasure at my newfound knowledge. 'Wow, blueberries are only blue on the outside!' Then I realized how ridiculous it was to be discovering this only now.

Yet here I am, laughing at my ignorance with you because maybe--just maybe--there are one or two of you out there with cans of army-green colored beans in your childhood who will share my initial disbelief...and who will make a point of slicing open the next blueberry you see.

Comments

[Krystal Rose & Nicole Rae]

I am so glad I stumbled upon your blog this evening! I had never in my life seen the inside of a blueberry. Although, I did not have a childhood that limited my exploration of whatever foods I could imagine (I tried sushi at the age of six or seven) I still never thought to cut a blueberry in half to see what was inside. Honestly, I don't think anyone would have done this since the fruit is so tiny it easily fits into the mouths of adults and children alike. How interesting. I am delighted by the revelation you have brought to my attention and I hope many more stumble upon this post and learn a bit more about this odd little fruit.

Also, thanks for the recommendation of the PB&B sandwich. You have inspired me to try a multitude of fruits with my PB sandwiches now. =o)

[cageyness]

Well, thank you and you're welcome. So glad you found that little discovery interesting too.

Sushi...that was a college find also, and now a favorite. :) Happy sandwich-ing!

[Chocoroco]

That is pretty interesting - I never looked at the inside of a blueberry, either! Sushi was a college experience for me too.  After that came a variety of exotic foods and travels. :)  I'm interested in trying this sandwich of yours!