(CTN News) – An Australian farm has broken the world record for the largest blueberry, producing a fruit the size of a ping-pong ball.
Picked in November and frozen since, the monster was over 4cm wide and weighed 20.4g, more than ten times the usual blueberry.
The previous record was held by a 16.2g berry cultivated in Western Australia.
The specimen represents a new variety created by the Costa Group to suit market demand for larger berries.
Brad Hocking says the Eterna breed consistently produces large fruit, but current growing circumstances have resulted in a bumper crop on their property in Corindi, northern New South Wales.
His team had seen some promising berries on the trees but were surprised and “stoked” when they were weighed.
“It wasn’t until we weighed them that we realised what we discovered,” the chief horticulturist told the BBC.
“The record-breaking fruit was obviously particularly large, but we would have picked 20 or more fruit on that morning that would have broken the previous world record.”
Tasting the World’s Largest Blueberry: Flavor and Experience
After 12 weeks, Guinness World Records confirmed the fruit as the heaviest ever recorded.
So, what does a world-record-breaking blueberry taste like?
Mr. Hocking smiles and says he doesn’t know; while tempting, his crew decided to spare the berry from extinction and instead ate its companions.
“We get a second breakfast every day… we don’t have to eat this one,” he said.
And now the growers are deciding what to do with it.
“There’s been a few ideas, maybe like a resin cast and mounting it on the wall or something.”
However, he claims that the Eterna berries do not sacrifice flavour despite their bigger size.
“Eating such a huge berry is a strange experience.
“We see it more as people eating them as snacks, rather than the usual uses in breakfast and baking. But the flavour and firmness are definitely present; it has a wonderful crunch and many blueberry aromatics.”
