My friend and I came from Baguio a few weeks ago. It was a crazy trip as it only lasted for 24 hours. Needless to say, our bodies, specifically our bums, were sore due to the almost 14 hours bus ride to and from Baguio. I will not recommend this kind of adventure to anyone except for those seeking a different kind of pain and exhaustion. I will leave the story of that self inflicted ordeal for a later post.
I am not sure if my brain shrunk little by little due to the exhaustion which started as soon as we arrived in Baguio, but I didn't think twice about buying those so called, "blueberries." They were labelled "Sweet Organic Blueberries" and regretting the experience of tasting fresh strawberries during winter time in Hong Kong haunted me so I was more than happy to purchase P50.00 worth of blueberries, which contained more than 1/4 cup. Forgetting how they looked like and that part of the Baguio wet market wasn't sufficiently lit up, it didn't even cross my mind to confirm with the vendor whether they were the real thing or not.
As if my lack of experience with blueberries wasn't enough, I did not bake them immediately and left them in the fridge for about a week. But they still looked like from the day I bought them so I proceeded to making them into a cupcake. As you've figured they didn't taste yummy. Even the cake itself didn't taste good. Or maybe the taste of the blueberries had to compliment the cake so that they'll be yummy to the bite. Anyway, going back to the blueberries, since they were packaged in a styro foam container covered with cling wrap, you really can't see if they still have that dusted with powder sheen to them. But if you look at the pictures of blueberries on the internet, if they're still or fresh, or just good to be consumed, they will have that look to them, just like grapes. Which is how one should choose fresh or good grapes. Or maybe one of the factors you should use as a guide in buying blueberries.
They most certainly didn't look like those even on the day I bought them.
Photo borrowed from http://photoblog.tonyherman.com/2012/03/05/surprisingly-good-blueberries/
A blueberry article you might like: http://www.wikihow.com/Pick-Blueberries
As of writing, I have done a quick research and there is more to it than just having that dusted with powder look so it really is best to research when you want to make the best choice. Another lesson I've learned is, it is really important to use locally grown fruits, or those that can be found naturally in your region or maybe even country. We don't have blueberries here in the Philippines and my lack of experience clearly shows that. But it was still worth the experience and I've come to appreciate what Mother Earth has to offer on this side of the planet.
Mangoes here are the best though, especially those that come from the island of Guimaras. Crossing my fingers I could get some and bake them into yummy cupcakes!
