18 Ways To Enjoy Your Maine Blueberry Pie
It's our day, Maine! Today is National Blueberry Pie day.
Seeing as though it's Maine's official state dessert, we Mainer's take a lot of pride in our berry pastry. Maine is the largest producer of wild blueberries in the world. We are happy to have this beautiful berry grow on 44,000 acres of the state and be included as only one of four fruit crops native to our continent here in North America.
It's a berry that is considered a super food to many because of it's richness in vitamins and minerals, richness in antioxidants (which helps our brains and bodies protect against disease), and research has also found that it may be a food that reduces inflammation.
With this pride and love of the native wild blueberries we also have the same fondness for the pastry that showcases it's loveliness.
The State of Maine dubbed the blueberry pie the official state dessert in 2011. Well before then, the first blueberry pie recipe was seen in 'The Practical Cook Book' published in 1850 by a lady named, Mrs. Bliss, according to the New England Historical Society.
A true Maine blueberry pie includes wild, low-bush blueberries. A characteristic noted in a Yankee Magazine recipe for a Maine Wild Blueberry Pie recipe insisted that New Englander's prefer a filling that is 'a bit runny'.
Nowadays, you can pretty much make your blueberry pie with about six ingredients, refrigerated pie crust plus the filling ingredients (sugar, flour, lemon juice and the blueberries).
To celebrate National Blueberry Pie Day, here's a list of crust styles, ingredient add-ins, or total makeovers to highlight this Maine State Dessert.