Posted on Thu, Jul. 24, 2008

When we had a vacation home in the North Carolina mountains, I adored blueberry picking with my family. There was always a race to see who could fill their container first and another race home to bake those berries into pies or muffins.

In season now, blueberries get a lot of great press for nutrition (antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fiber), but we're going to spotlight their wonderful flavor and versatility. Sprinkled over cereal, added to pancakes, tossed into salads or turned into salsas, cold soups or dessert, they're one of summer's delights.

Here are tips:

• Once picked, blueberries do not ripen further. Look for firm, plump, berries with smooth skins and a silvery sheen. Size doesn't matter but color does -- reddish berries are not ripe and won't taste good.

• Refrigerate fresh berries as soon as you get them home but wait to wash them until just before using. They can be refrigerated up to 10 days, but are better used sooner.

• After rinsing the berries, let them dry on paper towels so that extra water doesn't get into the recipe.

• When buying frozen berries, make sure they are loose inside their bag. If they're lumped together it means they've partially thawed and refrozen, compromising quality.

• Frozen berries can be used directly from the freezer without thawing in pancakes, waffles and other recipes.

• When adding blueberries to a recipe, there is usually no adjustment required. They add bulk but no liquid.

• When baking muffins or cakes, dust the berries with some of the recipe's flour so they won't sink to the bottom.

• Instead of folding berries into pancake batter, sprinkle them onto each pancake before flipping. That keeps the berries from getting crushed and the batter from turning blue.

Carole Kotkin is manager of the Ocean Reef Club cooking school and co-author of mmmiami: Tempting Tropical Tastes for Home Cooks Everywhere.