Australia Breaks World Record with Gigantic Blueberry
An Australian farm has shattered records by producing the world's largest blueberry. Measuring the size of a ping-pong ball and weighing 20.4 grams, this colossal fruit is at least six times the weight of the average blueberry. The record-breaking berry was grown at a farm located in Corindi, on the New South Wales Mid North Coast, that is managed by Costa Berries. The berry, which was picked in November, is a product of their innovative breeding program aimed at meeting consumer demands for larger fruits.
Brad Hocking, lead horticulturist at Costa Berries, expressed his team's excitement, stating, "It's a combination of good breeding and good growing." The discovery came after a period of particularly favourable growing conditions, leading to a bumper crop of unusually large blueberries. "We got the horticultural team together and had a walk through the block and basically cherry-picked out what we saw as the best fruit," Hocking explained.
After preservation in an industrial freezer, the berry underwent a verification process by Guinness World Records, resulting in its official certification as the heaviest documented blueberry in history. Regarding the taste, Hocking chuckled, admitting his team opted not to eat this particular berry, preferring to savour its companions. "We get a second breakfast every day... we don't have to eat this one.”
Now, attention turns to the fate of this record-breaking fruit. Ideas range from immortalising it with a resin cast and mounting it on a wall to turning it into a giant smoothie. However, amidst the excitement, Costa Berries has made assurances that while the Eterna variety may be larger, it does not compromise on flavour. "It's a different experience, eating a berry that is that large," Hocking remarked. "But certainly, the flavour and the firmness is there - it's got a really nice crunch to it and a high level of blueberry aromatics." With plans to increase production volume, Costa Berries aims to bring these exceptional blueberries to consumers across Australia in the coming years.
