Make Blueberry Desserts Even Better With This Sweet Shake-Up

Blueberries are one of the most versatile and delicious fruits to bake with. They can be used to create a hearty base for a pie or cobbler, add some color to an elegant almond chantilly cake, or be tossed into a batter last minute, completely transforming something like scones or pancakes. The beauty is that you can elevate your desserts even further by using two types of blueberries: wild and cultivated.

Wild blueberries can introduce a very unique flavor to desserts. While cultivated berries always taste similar, every wild blueberry is different. Some are super sweet, others are more tart. It's what makes them so interesting to work with — and why you probably want to mix them with cultivated berries when baking instead of just using them on their own. They work especially well in muffins and sweet cakes, like blueberry coffee cake, and their sweetness can help enrich an otherwise boring recipe, like banana bread or nut-free granola bars, as their deep blue color makes dishes pop.

You've probably seen wild blueberries being sold in some capacity, but not everyone knows that they taste different from the cultivated ones you typically find in the grocery store. The cultivated version comes from bushes that have been purposely planted to grow them. Wild blueberries, meanwhile, grow naturally. 

Wild blueberries are smaller, darker, and have a much more intense flavor. They're healthier, too, although baking can slightly reduce nutritional levels. They're rich in anthocyanins, a polyphenol known for its anti-inflammatory properties, contain more fiber, and have around 30% less sugar.

Cultivated blueberries contain more water, which causes them to shrink during baking and leave gaps in your dough. Wild blueberries don't have that problem, so mixing them in can help with the texture of your cakes and muffins.

The ratio of wild to cultivated berries doesn't matter. You can use more if you have a particularly good batch, or do an equal split. Even a handful of wild blueberries can amp up a lemon blueberry pie or breathe new life into an old blueberry cobbler recipe.