The perception of blueberries as healthy ingredients has led to a surge in the popularity and sales of blueberries in all their forms. Consumers want to include blueberries in their daily diet; food processors and savvy product developers are including them in many new products. Manufacturers have discovered that using blueberries and blueberry formats to provide sweetness offers the dual advantage of sweetening and enriching the product naturally plus the ability to tout the nutritional benefits of their products, thanks to the inclusion of natural blueberries.
Blueberries and blueberry formats in baked goods and snack items can mean reductions in sugar, high-fructose corn syrup or other sweeteners.
In fresh blueberries, fructose is 50% and glucose is 49% of the total sugars. This pattern is similar to the distribution in sugar, which is about half glucose and half fructose.
Easy to formulate, cultivated highbush blueberries are available year-round in a wide variety of formats that provide sweetness and taste: fresh or dried, freeze-dried, as purée, concentrate or juice. Depending on the application, different forms are recommended for optimal results.
Frozen and IQF berries, for example, can be ground directly into mixes, imparting rich blueberry flavor and showing lots of blueberry in the skin. They can add intriguing effects like blue swirls and patterns and are essential in almost anything red, white and blue.
Blueberry concentrate can be used to sweeten and color granola bars, bagels and cookies. Puree, a blend of berries in a concentrated form up to 45° Brix, is used to formulate custom pastes. Dried blueberries are perfect for granola and trail mixes.
Some recent products using blueberries for sweetness include The Perfect Purée of Napa Valley blueberry puree and blueberry breads from Breadsmith, including Blueberry Cornbread, Blueberry Lemon and Honey Oat Bran with Blueberries.
The rich color and sweetness of blueberries are an advantage in pie and pastry fillings, croissants, puff pastry, strudel and filled doughnuts. The sweetness of blueberries livens up variety breads and a wide array of baked goods.
