In this sour-milk griddle cake recipe—adapted from Edna Lewis’ The Taste of Country Cooking —a thick, tangy batter cooks up into soft, fluffy rounds. The rustic pancakes make a delicious breakfast, especially when topped with stewed berries and maple syrup. You can use fresh or frozen blueberries to make the sauce.

Featured in “Back of the Bookshelf: The Taste of Country Cooking” by Tim Mazurek.“

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Sweet-tart blueberries make the base for this delicious fruit soup, a popular Scandinavian cold cure. This recipe first appeared in our November 2012 issue with the story “Feed a Fever,” and in our cookbook SAVEUR: Soups and Stews. 

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A woman from a family in North Haven, Maine gave this recipe to Nancy Harmon Jenkins and told her the story of the recipe’s origins: A Swedish au pair named Lotta came to Maine and fell in love with either the father or the eldest son of the host family (that particular detail was lost to time). Lotta was promptly sent back to Sweden but left behind this elegant open-topped wild blueberry tart recipe. Look for the tiny, sweet wild berries at your local grocery store (Wyman’s is a popular brand), or online, or substitute regular blueberries. Glazing the tart (see step 5) is an optional step that makes the dessert all the more stunning.

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When driving through rural Maine’s hilly countryside, most wouldn’t think twice about the unremarkable low-lying fields beyond the road. But step onto one of those stretches of green and you’ll notice red-tipped leaves alongside emerald-hued foliage, tall white flowers dancing in the breeze, and tight bunches of ripening blueberries huddled together against the bluster. What may have appeared at first glance to be a mere meadow is in fact a kaleidoscope of colors and textures. This is a wild blueberry field, the bedrock of a burgeoning wine industry in Maine that could help save one of the state’s most precious heritage crops.

Wild blueberries—smaller and more tart than the produce aisle’s hybrid varieties, and genetically distinct from them—are indigenous to this state. “Maine wild blueberries are not to be grouped with hybrid blueberries from other states, nations, and continents,” says winemaker Michael Terrien, co-owner of Obsidian Wine Company and founder of Terrien Wines in Northern California, as he confidently threads his way through a blueberry field. Stopping abruptly, the Maine native bends down to examine a cluster of fruit—‘wild blues,’ as they are affectionately called. His eyes, the same color as his prized berries, radiate enthusiasm as he explains that the wild fruit has grown naturally in Maine for more than 10,000 years. Bushes are never planted; rather, farmers establish their businesses around naturally occurring shrubs. “Therein lies the fruit’s sustainability bonafides; we haven’t messed with the genes,” says Terrien, which means wild blueberries are inherently more resilient against pests and disease. 

“Maine is the only state with wild blues in any significant quantity,” he explains. However, “precisely because they have never been bred, they are at a commercial disadvantage to hybrids.” Yields are low: on average, a field can only produce about 2 tons per acre, according to the USDA and National Agricultural Statistics Service, far less than the 10 tons per acre of commercially bred varieties, and wild blues can only be harvested every other year. Competition from Canada—the only other place that grows wild blueberries abundantly enough to be commercially viable—is also hurting Maine’s farmers. In recent years, the value and volume of the state’s wild blues have fluctuated wildly: in 2017, prices dipped to 25 cents per pound (2021 saw some relief, with prices reaching 70 cents per pound), and in 2020, the crop’s yield fell below 48 million pounds, the lowest haul since 2004. 

Baked into muffins, folded into pancake batter, or eaten by the juicy handful are how most people know and love wild blues. But Terrien saw the potential for something more. The winemaker realized he could apply his vintner skills to the fruit—and help revive the struggling crop by increasing demand, generating interest, and providing farmers with more opportunities. 

Fruit wines are not a new concept, but many are cloyingly sweet. Terrien knew blueberries had all the components to make a dry, vinous-like wine. Blueberries contain sugars that can be converted into alcohol—part of the standard winemaking process. Plus, the naturally occurring antioxidants allow wines to age slowly, protect them against oxidation, and help keep the beverage stable, meaning little to no sulfur needs to be added. The one thing missing is tannins, which provide body and texture to wine. Through trial and error, Terrien and his co-founder Eric Martin found that adding bubbles to blueberry wine gave it a texturally interesting mouthfeel that replicated the sensations created by tannins. Finally, in 2014, Bluet was born.

The first sip of a blueberry wine is tart, but distinctly redolent of the namesake fruit. What follows on the palate is an elegant spice, calling to mind black pepper. With its acidity and sparkling texture, the beverage is lively and refreshing, not heavy or syrupy. It is, dare I say, surprisingly wine-like. 

Like all sparkling wines, blueberry wine should be served chilled, and its low level of 7% alcohol by volume (ABV) makes it ideal for the warm summer months. For an extremely easy cocktail, Terrien recommends adding a splash of triple sec and a sprig of mint.

Cognizant of the challenges facing wild blueberry farmers, the state introduced a bill in March to make the state’s Down East area, which is home to a dense population of blueberry fields, a National Heritage Area. If the bill passes, the resulting job opportunities and increased tourism will provide much-needed funding for the region’s agricultural industry.

Small farmers make up about 40 percent of the wild blueberry industry, and Terrien sources blueberries exclusively from these boutique farms to help them increase production and ultimately revenue. But one winemaker can’t shoulder an industry alone, which is why Terrien is encouraging other entrepreneurial souls to start their own wineries.

One protege is R.A.S., founded by Joe Appel, Dan Roche, and Emily Smith. The winery recently released the second vintage of its Arkadia blueberry sparkling wine. R.A.S.’s fruit, sourced from organic farms, goes through a longer maceration period than Bluet’s, which gives the wine a deeper color and more intense flavors. The makers also use naturally occurring yeast to kickstart fermentation. The result is a wine with an earthy and savory quality, and intense herbal notes reminiscent of pomegranate and rhubarb. And the company is not limiting itself to sparkling wine. The makers have also produced an aromatized wine called A7 Americano that infuses wild blueberry wine with organic herbs, spices, and fruit, then fortifies it with brandy. The resulting beverage can be used in vermouth-based cocktails such as Manhattans and Negronis, or enjoyed on the rocks. “We wanted to make a fortified/aromatized wine that could be used creatively as a mixer, but could also provide lots of pleasure when sipped on its own,” says Appel.

In this nascent industry, there’s plenty of room for experimentation. Terrien’s assistant winemaker, Davis Martinec, plans to harvest his first crop of blueberries this year for his own yet-to-be-named label. While he’s still figuring out his style, he knows one thing is clear: the quality will be there. “[In Maine] we don’t have to try and force something into a box, like trying to grow grapes where they don’t want to grow. Here, you’re taking a fruit that loves being here, that wants to be here, and making wine out of it.”

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Summer is a scoop of vanilla ice cream cloaked in warm blueberry sauce. It’s purple lips, caked with butter crust crumbs and sweet pie filling. It’s blueberries bursting through cold whipped cream—nothing more, nothing less—devoured greedily at the kitchen counter after everyone’s gone to sleep. Summer, in our utopian fantasy, is one long and languorous blueberry-filled fever dream.

Long after blueberry season (roughly May to September) wanes, we keep summer alive with frozen blueberries, which stud our cakes and muffins and pancakes year round—and sing in finger-licking sauces like blueberry barbecue and sweet-and-sour ketchup. An aside: Frozen berries must be folded into batters while still frozen, lest they melt into an unwieldy goo, discoloring your dessert and throwing the moisture content out of whack.

 Whether you’re shopping for fresh or frozen blueberries, keep an eye out for the tiny low-bush variety (sometimes marketed as wild Maine blueberries) native to New England and Canada. Their tart, intensely fruity flavor trumps that of their plastic-container counterparts. But if the little guys are nowhere to be found, don’t sweat it: Unlike, say, supermarket tomatoes, blueberries almost always taste terrific, no matter their type or origin.

Saggio Cocktail

Muddled sage adds woodsy freshness to this blueberry vodka and white cranberry elixir. Get the recipe >

Nell Huffman’s Blueberry Pie

Our go-to blueberry pie recipe hails from the Alaskan wilderness, where the berries (locally known as kyäni) are picked at their sweet-and-sour prime. Get the recipe >

Blueberry Pancakes

Our favorite blueberry pancake recipe incorporates seltzer for fluff and yogurt for tang. Get the recipe >

Classic Blueberry Muffins

Fresh blueberries, lemon zest, and plenty of butter make these muffins far superior than anything you can buy at the store. Get the recipe >

Blueberry Quinoa Pancakes with Lemon Crema

Granola and quinoa make these giant, fluffy pancakes from Chicago’s Dove’s Luncheonette unequivocally healthy. Or at least that’s what we tell ourselves as we go back for seconds and thirds. Get the recipe >

Blueberry Barbecue Chicken

This zippy blueberry sauce makes a refreshing drink when mixed with club soda or booze, but you can also slather it onto roast meats or use it as the base for a fruity vinaigrette. Get the recipe >

Spiced Cabbage with Blueberries (Kryddað Rauðkál með Bláberjum)

Braised ruby red cabbage with warm spices, fruit, and jam is an Icelandic Christmas side dish that we like cozying up with when the temperature dips. Get the recipe >

Carolina Blues Blueberry Cocktail

The Carolina Blues follows the classic Tom Collins blueprint but swaps simple syrup for shrub, soda for prosecco, and lemon juice for lime. Get the recipe >

Blueberry Chipotle Ketchup

Sweet and smoky blueberry chipotle ketchup is a terrific sidekick to all things grilled; try painting it like barbecue sauce onto chicken legs and portobello mushrooms as they cook. Get the recipe >

Black and Blue Berry Pie

We’ll never knock a soupy blueberry filling—the more sauce for our vanilla ice cream, the merrier—but there’s something to be said for the photo-ready slices of this summery pie, which relies on instant tapioca as a thickener. 

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Blueberry Quinoa Pancakes with Lemon Crema

Blueberry BBQ Chicken

Black and Blue Berry Pie

Spiced Cabbage with Blueberries (Kryddað Rauðkál með Bláberjum)

Nectarine, Blueberry, and Vanilla Bean Hand Pies

Blueberry Sauce

Carolina Blues Blueberry Cocktail

Blueberry Upside Down Cake

Get the recipe for Blueberry Crisp

Blueberry, Nectarine and Shiso Salad

Sweet Corn and Blueberry Trifles

Mustikkakeitto

Grilled Cantaloupe with Peach Agrodolce

Blueberry-Poppy Seed Squares (Borůvkový Koláč)

Blueberry Pie Milkshake

Blueberry Jam with Lemon and Thyme

Blueberry Donuts

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Blueberries are at their peak right now, and they’re good for plenty more than eating out of hand or baking into a pie. Another idea to try: barbecue sauce. Really!

North Carolina chef Vivian Howard cooks down blueberries with apple cider vinegar, chile flakes, sugar, cinnamon, and bay leaf to form a glaze that she paints onto grilled chicken. The berries add more than sweetness—their dark, fruity flavor works surprisingly well for a caramelized sauce that adds a nice crust.

If you end up with extra blueberry sauce, use it to make a refreshing summery cocktail or two. You can even turn it into your next salad dressing. In case you want to save it for later to rescue you from the berry dearth of winter, it keeps for months in the fridge.

Get the recipe for Vivian Howard’s Blueberry Barbecue Chicken »

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North Haven is a small and rather exclusive island out in Maine’s gorgeous Penobscot Bay, inhabited mostly by summer folks and lobster fishermen and their families. The fishermen set and haul their traps, the summer folks sail and feast on lobster, and everyone goes blueberrying in August when the wild berries are ripe. A lady from one of North Haven’s long-established summer families gave me this recipe which she said came from a Swedish au pair called Lotta who fell in love either with the father or with the eldest son of the family with whom she was staying. Whichever it was, father or son, it was ill-advised. Lotta was promptly shipped back to Sweden, leaving behind this elegant pie as a sweet memory.

I’m not much of a pie-maker; I find the task of rolling out pie crust to be way beyond my level of competence. But this crust is so easy — and so delicious — that even a klutz like me can handle it. For pie- and tart-making in Maine, we use only our own tiny, fragrant “wild” blueberries. (I put “wild” in quotation marks because they aren’t really wild—rather they are a carefully managed resource that begins wild and ends up semi-cultivated.) “Wild” blueberries are also available from Canada and possibly from Michigan; at your grocery store, you can find Wyman’s frozen berries. I’m told you can make this with big commercial berries but I’ve never dared try.

See the recipe for Wild Blueberry Tart »

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