An Australian farm has broken the record for the world’s largest blueberry with a fruit the size of a ping pong ball.
Harvested in November and stored in the freezer ever since, this monster was about 4 centimetres wide and weighed 20.4 grams, about 10 times the size of an average blueberry.
This title was previously held by his 16.2g berry grown in Western Australia.
This specimen is from a new variety developed by the Costa Group to meet consumer demand for larger fruit.
Brad Hocking said the Eterna variety had always produced huge fruit, but recent growing conditions had prevented a bumper crop at his farm in Corindi in northern New South Wales.
His team noticed some promising fruit on the tree, but when they weighed it, they were shocked and excited.”It wasn’t until I put it on the scale that I realized what I had found,” the senior horticulturist said.
“The record fruit was obviously particularly large, but had we picked more than his 20 fruit that morning, the previous world record would have been broken.”
12 weeks Later this week, the fruit was recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records. The heaviest berry ever recorded has been certified.
So what does the world record blueberry taste like? Mr. Hocking laughed and said he didn’t know.
Although it was tempting, his team decided to save Berry from instant annihilation and instead ate his compatriots.
“We eat a second breakfast every day… there’s no need to eat this,” he said.
And now breeders are thinking about what to do with it.”I had a few ideas.
Maybe make a mould out of resin and mount it on the wall or something like that.”But in general, Eterna fruit, even if it’s big, doesn’t taste as good. No compromises, he promises.
“It’s a different experience, eating a berry that is that large.
“We see it more as people who are consuming them as snacks, more than maybe the traditional uses in breakfasts and baking. 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.”