The North American Secret of Blueberries

Contrary to popular belief, the blueberries in your supermarket are not related to European bilberries. They are actually North American natives with light-colored flesh inside, rather than the dark pigment found in their wild cousins.

While many people assume all blue-stained berries are part of the same family, cultivated blueberries come from a specific genus called Cyanococcus. Unlike European bilberries that stain your mouth entirely blue, these berries only store their color in the skin. This means when you bite into a blueberry, the interior remains pale. North American breeders spent decades perfecting these varieties, which are distinct from the wild shrubs found across Europe.