Have you seen the giant blueberry in downeast Maine? Giant blueberry? Yup.
Wild Blueberry Land Gift Shop and Mini Golf is in Columbia Falls, Maine.
As you drive up Route 1 between Ellsworth and Machias, you suddenly come up a large blueberry, which is actually a bakery and gift shop for…. wait for it… all things blueberry, of course.
The first thing that will draw you into the store is the aroma wafting through the screen door. The store sells blueberry pies and blueberry scones, always freshly baked.
Although it looks like a throwback to the tourist traps of the 1950’s, the giant fruit is much younger — built in 2001. Besides the bakery, they also stock jams, jellies, honey, vinegar and other food items. It’s your one-stop shopping for gifts, both food and the traditional t-shirts, magnets, coffee mugs, and other cool Maine-themed items.
The owners, “Farmer Dell and Chef Marie” Emerson, stress the difference between blueberries and WILD blueberries. They describe wild blueberries as:
The Wild Blueberry is one of only three fruits native to North America. The other two are the cranberry and the wild grape. Wild Blueberries are grown on a two year cycle, harvesting every other year. These rare gems grow on the glacial soils that provide perfect conditions to prosper in this Northeast corridor of America. In the fall we burn our fields to control the competition and prepare for the harvest in the following year. This trick was taught to the settlers by the Native Americans, who held the Wild Blueberry in high esteem. The Wild Blueberry has been proven to provide many health benefits, can be used to preserve meats and other foods, and is absolutely delicious. Maine has been blessed with this completely natural, wild, wonderful treasure.
Wild Blueberry Land is open seven days a week in summer and weekends in autumn.
Visit their website for nutritional tips like this one:
According to Talking “Superfoods” with Nutrition Expert Regan Jones “Wild Blueberries and other “superfoods” may help you lose weight, boost your mood, lower your cholesterol, and they’re real foods, not overly processed foods meant to mimic the nutrient that they’re promoting. Foods like eggs for protein, beans for fiber, sweet potato for vitamin A, salmon for omega-3s and of course, wild blueberries for antioxidants are the “superfoods” that people should be eating. Wild Blueberries are great cooked down into a sauce with a bit of water and balsamic vinegar as a topping over roasted pork. They can also be used to make chia blueberry seed jam to spread on toast. Mix them into yogurt and granola or throw them into a smoothie. Some fruits are better if they are frozen. In the case of Wild Blueberries, since they’re picked and frozen at the peak of freshness, all the nutrients are locked in. Fresh may be picked at the right time but often loses nutrients during travel time and while sitting on store shelves. When choosing fresh, look for as local as possible.”
WILD BLUEBERRY LAND
1067 US HWY 1
COLUMBIA FALLS, ME 04623
(207) 483- BLUE (2583)
Farm number: (207) 483-3884