Aah! The taste of fresh blueberry juice. When juicing your own fruit juices, it can’t get any better than a bold, fresh taste full of flavor and nutrients. Using blueberry juice as your base, and mixing it with the juice from other fruits, can create quite a stunning mixture. Try pairing blueberries with plum, apple, pear, or other berries.

Blueberry Varieties

The North American harvest season for blueberries is anywhere from May through September. To get the cheapest and best blueberries for juicing, try to purchase berries during this time. There are nearly 20 different species of blueberries, a native fruit to North America. If you are planting your own blueberry bushes, there are easily 50 different plant varieties from which to choose.

The four basic varieties are highbush, half-high, lowbush, and rabbiteye. The most popular types are highbush and lowbush. Highbush blueberries are most commonly found in grocery stores and are believed to be among the best blueberries for juicing, due to their large size and juice content. Lowbush, or wild blueberries, are often found in the freezer section, but are not recommended for putting into your juicer.

What to Look For

Look for blueberries with a powder-blue color (not too light or too dark), firm (not too hard or too mushy), and uniform in size (not too small or too big). Wild blueberries tend to be smaller, firmer, less juicy, and tangier in flavor with some sweet and some sour.

Choosing the best berries for your juicer will result in the best juice possible. Fresh blueberries from your local produce supplier will yield the highest amounts of juice for your homemade blueberry juice recipes. Happy juicing!