Blueberry Juice

Species Name: Vaccinium corymbosum

Also Known As: huckleberry, bilberry, cowberries, lowbush blueberry, highbush blueberry, and also whortleberry

Native to North America, the blueberry is a perennial flowering plant with dark-purple berries. The small berries have a flared crown at the end and begin life a pale greenish color, turning first reddish-purple, then indigo when fully ripe. The berries are sweet at maturity; the crop varies from May to August depending on location.

What is blueberry juice? Blueberry juice is made from the pulverized fruit of the plant.

Blueberry Juice Concentrate Recipe:

• Put blueberries in a metal strainer and rinse with cold water to remove debris, shaking strainer while rinsing. Fill a stockpot with the blueberries, then pour cold water over the berries until submerged an inch under water.
• Bring to a boil, cover the pot and simmer for about 2 hours. Check water level frequently to avoid scorching. After two hours use a potato masher and mash all the blueberries in the pot. Place the metal strainer over a large container, then pour the mashed berries into the strainer and smash the blueberries through the strainer. This will extract more liquid from the pulp.
• Put the liquid back into the stockpot and place back on the stove. Bring the juice to a rolling boil and add sugar to taste, and then boil for 2 minutes. Turn off the stove and let liquid cool.
• Put the liquid into containers for freezing or pour into ice cube trays (1 oz each) and freeze. Each 6 oz. of blueberry juice concentrate will make about 2 quarts of blueberry juice.

While making blueberry juice, you might want to wear gloves as blueberry juice can stain.

Home Remedies Using Blueberry Juice:

Benefits of Blueberry Juice:

Native Americans dried the blueberries in the sun, added them whole to soups, stews and meat, or crushed the blueberries into a powder and rubbed them into meat as a preservative. Native Americans helped early settlers make it through the first winter by giving blueberries to the pilgrims.

Blueberry juice is a great antioxidant; it is beneficial to the eyes, helping with macular degeneration and also assisting in the prevention of cancer. It is also beneficial for:

• Lower cholesterol
• Prevent bile acid build up
• Treat urinary tract infections
• Stem loss of memory in Alzheimer's patients
• Cataracts
• Glaucoma
• Ulcers
• Multiple sclerosis
• Chronic fatigue syndrome
• Colic
• Fever
• Varicose veins
• Hemorrhoids
• Improving circulation
• A laxative
• Labor Pains
• A tonic after miscarriage

Much of the research done on the medical potential of blueberries has been done on laboratory animals. The results of one states that, "Research at the University of Maine in Orono found that lab animals fed wild blueberries had improved blood pressure and reduced accumulation of fat in their arteries."

Side Effects of Blueberry Juice:

There are no known side effects to Blueberry Juice.