Mid-July is wild blueberry season in Maine, which makes Sunday, July 11, 2027, a sensible spot for National Blueberry Muffin Day. Muffin fans can thank a New Jersey farmer and a federal botanist for the berries inside.
When Is National Blueberry Muffin Day?
It lands on July 11. Maine’s wild crop runs from July to mid-August, University of Maine Extension says, so fresh berries are easy to find.
Coville, White and the First Farmed Berry
Nobody knows who first proposed the muffin day. Blueberry farming has a clear start, though. It begins with Frederick Coville, a botanist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Before him, blueberries came only from the wild. Coville found the trick was soil. By 1908 he had mostly dropped alkaline ground to focus on acidic conditions, and by 1910 he knew how to grow the plants.
The numbers explain it. Most plants prefer neutral soil, near pH 7, but blueberries thrive at 4.5 to 4.8. Coville later counted that finding his greatest discovery.
Elizabeth White joined him in 1911. Her family ran a cranberry farm at Whitesbog, New Jersey. She had neighbors find and tag wild bushes with big fruit, then passed them to Coville.
That same year Coville made his first successful crosses. He used two wild plants, Brooks and Russell, picked from a pasture in Greenfield, New Hampshire. Crosses in 1911 and 1913 yielded about 3,000 hybrids.
In 1912, wild berries were selling for 14 cents a quart. Four years later, White grew the first commercial crop, the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council notes. People started calling her the “Blueberry Queen.”
She did it in a farm world run mostly by men. A century later, her great-nephew’s farm still grows the oldest field of the Elizabeth variety.
Coville died in 1937. His crosses kept coming out afterward as Bluecrop, Blueray and Earliblue, and by 1942 his work was behind 14 of 18 varieties.
A muffin made official
Third-graders in Carleton, Minnesota, wanted to see how a bill becomes law. Blueberries were common up north and an important crop down south, so they picked the blueberry muffin. Their representative, Mary Murphy, carried the bill. It became law in 1988, MPR News recounts.
Minnesota’s statute is a single sentence: “The blueberry muffin is adopted as the official muffin of the state of Minnesota.” Writer Doug Mack told MPR News the muffin never really caught on.
Only three states have an official muffin. Massachusetts picked the corn muffin, and New York has one of its own.
What the Berry Adds
Growers have plenty to celebrate. The U.S. crop passed 553 million pounds in 2014, worth over $817 million. Coville’s varieties still sit in the family tree of most blueberries grown today.
Wild blueberries bring fiber, too. One cup holds 4 grams, according to University of Maine Extension.
Baking Tips for National Blueberry Muffin Day
- Fold frozen berries straight into the batter. There’s no need to thaw them first.
- Stir only until the flour disappears, since overmixing makes muffins tough.
- Try Minnesota’s official recipe from the Secretary of State’s website, baked at 425°F for 20 to 22 minutes.
- Keep fresh berries in the fridge and use them within one to two weeks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did all Minnesota lawmakers back the blueberry muffin?
Not all. Some preferred the bran muffin, and a few joked about blue-stained teeth. The students handed out muffins to win them over.
Which state grows the most wild blueberries?
Maine does. Its wild berries are the small lowbush type.
How big is blueberry production worldwide?
Global output has topped 1.9 billion pounds, the USDA says.
When did the cultivated blueberry turn 100?
In 2016, a century after White’s first commercial harvest.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Agriculture – Frederick Coville and the Blueberry
- U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council – The Woman Who Put Blueberries on Your Table
- MPR News – The History of Minnesota’s State Muffin (2022)
- Minnesota Statutes 1.1496 – State Muffin
- University of Maine Extension – Wild Blueberries (Bulletin #4263)