European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 20, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Starring recipe roles for flavorful berries by Carleton Jones Baltimore Sun for years i ignored the deep Blue things. They seemed so definitely second rate Well behind raspberries strawberries and even blackberries. People Back then were mostly tossing off All those cobblers made with canned blueberries cafeteria style. There were momentous memories of the thuds As spoonfuls went Down settling heavily just above the diaphragm. Then came the trip a three week sojourn in Maine a few years Back made a believer out of me. The delightfully Blue and faintly Dusty fresh berries were about 79 cents a quart if memory serves and they were gorgeously fresh and tiny not big and Bland. You munched them whole every morning including the tiny stems i never Felt better. I returned to the Middle Atlantic with a heightened respect for the Breed. But i still passed up the Blueberry pies that blossomed in May along with the Rhododendron and the wedding  t a Wasny to there some other Way to ennoble the Berry blueberries it seemed to me deserved a lighter destiny. Why not get away for a while from the heavy traditional Berry treatments muffins and the tops of cheesecakes and such situations in which the delicate and fresh offering of the fruit can be overwhelmed by too much flour cheese and eggs the recipes below hew to this idea generally. What is surprising is that the More a tight touch is applied usually the simpler a recipe gets to prepare. Microwave ovens make preserving blueberries in sugared form a snap. Here Are some other tips on shopping and preparing blueberries generally choose smaller berries since they equally deliver More flavor but one school of thought says that in commercial Market berries bigger is better. Also the Best Quality berries have a sort of Silvery Dusty Glaze on them indicating freshness. Berries that have been around a while lose it. The fresh Blueberry no matter what the origin is one item that feels perfectly at Home in Chilly super dry american refrigerators it loves an environment that dries out other fresh goods. Don t do a thing to them except washing in water drying and refrigerating As soon As possible. They also freeze quite Well and like cranberries can be revived Many weeks later with Little loss. One of the simplest delights of the berries is to toss about a half a cup of them into your favorite Pancake Batter. Buckwheat cakes and blueberries Are among the cos Iest weddings of this sort. Leslie land the prominent food writer author of the new England epicure Dell Trade paperbacks 1987 $9.95has this advice for hum Oring the Berry a was Long As they were dry when they were picked and have not been suffocated and made to sweat by a lid of plastic film blueberries should store Well for several Days in the refrigerator. If they re Damp when you buy them spread them out and let them dry before you store  the following is a recipe for a delightful Blueberry sauce used As a dessert Topping. The formula Here Calls for Lemon ice Cream but the sauce will probably also Star when used with any fruit ice Cream or Frozen fruit based Yogurt. The sauce is Given in Rodale s Basic natural foods edited by Charles Gerras and staff Simon amp schuster fireside 1989 $15.95. Hot Blueberry sauce it cup Blueberry Jam 2 Teaspoons Lemon juice 2 to 3 cups fresh blueberries rub Jam through a Fine Strainer Combine with Lemon juice in a 4-cup Saucepan and stir Over Low heat until it comes to a boil. Add blueberries and continue to stir until mixture is warm do not Cook berries too Long they should not disintegrate. Serve hot Over scoops of Lemon ice Cream placed in individual dessert glasses refrigerated sauce keeps Well up to 2  2 to 3 cups. Picking blueberries on a farm near Beaumont Texas the Best Quality blueberries have a sort of Silvery Dusty Glaze on them indicating freshness. Brie and Blueberry salad this is a lighthearted Blueberry salad of great elegance concocted by the Crabtree amp Evelyn folks a the Crabtree amp Evelyn Cookbook a Stewart Tabori amp Chang 1989 $29.95. The authors suggest that if the cheese is reasonably firm chop in pieces the size of the berries if very soft put a single portion in the Center of each salad 2 Tablespoons Black currant vinegar 2 Teaspoons fresh Lemon juice 4 Tablespoons hazelnut Oil 4 Tablespoons Light vegetable Oil Pinch ground Nutmeg Salt freshly ground Pepper 4 cups Tom Bibb or Boston lettuce leaves 2 Tablespoons Small fresh mint leaves i pint fresh blueberries about 1 cup 8 thin slices about 4 ounces brie St. Andre or fresh goats cheese in a Small bowl whisk together vinegar Lemon juice hazelnut Oil vegetable Oil and Nutmeg. Season with Salt and Pepper and whisk until Well blended. In a Large salad bowl toss lettuces and mint leaves with just enough dressing to coat them lightly. Divide greens among eight chilled salad plates scatter about 2 Tablespoons blueberries Over each salad and arrange a slice of cheese in the Center of each salad. Serve immediately. Serves eight. Uptown Blueberry dessert this is Leslie land s recipe for a three Star Blueberry dish that showcases the Lemon Blueberry Affinity. Its complicated but Worth the trouble however if you want a simpler recipe you can use a prepared  1 Tablespoon in Flavoured Gelatin one envelope v4 cup cold water 4 egg Yolks a cup sugar i cup heavy Cream  finely grated zest of 1 Large Lemon about 1 Tablespoon i cup Lemon juice about 1 very Large Lemon 3 Tablespoons triple Sec or other Orange liqueur e e y u r e d or it it 0 r h