ISO Frozen Wild Ontario Blueberries

[Googs]

The Argentinian blueberries just aren't cutting it in my baking. I crave the luscious Wild Ontario. Please tell me someone was smart enough to freeze 'em, package 'em, and retail them. Anywhere within Eglinton-Lake Shore, Bay-Parliament would be great.

[Raquel]

I buy mine from Whole Foods and Longo's. Both are excellent quality, but as they're frozen, of course are not so much luscious until you bake with them, etc. I actually love them straight out of the freezer into my steaming hot oatmeal.

[Googs]

At Whole Foods, are they the Ontario Wild?

[torontovore]

The wild blueberry is native to N America. I've never heard of wild blueberries being transplanted outside the NE American continent for commercial or any other purpose. Their range is similar to that of maple syrup production, so the frozen wild blueberries are most likely from Canada or New England. I'd welcome both into my home as 'local'.

[Googs]

While I do have a preference for local, this isn't because they're from Ontario. It's because I find the Ontario Wild have a superior taste and texture to all other blueberries I've had.

[tjr]

I bought some at Jean-Talon earlier this year; they were from Quebec and better than the ones I got in Ontario this year.

[CoffeeAddict416]

The Lac-St-Jean region in northern Quebec is known for their blueberries. I've had them on a couple of occasions as my girlfriend's family is originally from up there and they are absolutely fantastic in desserts. They taste great fresh too of course.

[grandgourmand]

I believe the PC organics wild blueberries are from Canada, not sure if they're from Ontario.

[1sweetpea]

I have a tub in my freezer right now. They're definitely a product of Canada, but there is no mention of a specific province or region. Try them out. They've done a nice job in the IQF (individually quick frozen) department. There's no blueberry ice-block situation inside the tub. They're very nice and are at least a more local product than berries from Argentina.

[Tatai]

One caveat: "Product of Canada" on a package or container does not ensure that the contents of the said package or container were grown/raised/produced in Canada; it could simply mean that final production of the product (i.e., freezing/packaging in this case) occurred in Canada.

A new federal law comes into effect on December 31st, enacting new labelling laws that differentiate between "Made in Canada" products and "Produced in Canada" products. From that time on, "Produced in Canada" products will have to have additional information such as "...from imported ingredients."

[Sooeygun]

According to Marketplace on CBC, Product of Canada actually means 51% of the production costs were spent in Canada.

But as of December 31, 2008 that will change. I guess we will see then if those blueberries really are from Canada.

[Googs]

Thanks for that gg. They really need to be those itty bitty beads of big-flavoured beauty that are Ontario Wild. I'll try some more hunting this weekend.

Tatai, I am aware of the labelling issue, but I thank you for being so helpful. I too don't wish to purchase Product of Canada produce that's actually from China or Mexico. It's all about the soil.

[grandgourmand]

I can't comment on the labelling, but I can that they are the wild "itty bitty" bluberries.