An Australian farm has broken the record for the world’s largest blueberry with a fruit the size of a ping-pong ball.
Picked in November and stored in a freezer since then, the giant blueberry measured almost 4cm wide and weighed 20.4 grams—roughly 10 times the average size of a blueberry.
Previously, the record was held by a 16.2-gram berry grown in Western Australia.
This remarkable specimen belongs to a new variety developed by the Costa Group, aiming to meet consumer demands for larger berries.
Brad Hocking, the lead horticulturalist, stated that the Eterna breed consistently produces enormous fruit, but favorable growing conditions recently led to a bumper crop at their farm in Corindi, northern New South Wales.
Although his team had noticed promising berries on the trees, they were astonished and “stoked” when they weighed them.
“It wasn’t until we put them on the scale that we realized what we found,” said Mr. Hocking.
“The record-breaking fruit was notably large, but we picked 20 or more fruits that morning that could have broken the previous world record.”
After 12 weeks, the berry was certified this week by Guinness World Records as the heaviest ever documented.
But what does a world-record-breaking blueberry taste like?
Mr. Hocking laughs and admits he doesn’t know. While tempted, his team decides to preserve the berry for now and instead consume its companions.
“We get a second breakfast every day; we don’t have to eat this one,” he said.
The growers are now contemplating what to do with it.
“There have been a few ideas, like making a resin cast and mounting it on the wall or something.”
Nevertheless, Mr. Hocking assures that Eterna berries, although larger, don’t compromise on flavor.
“It’s a different experience eating a berry that large,” he explained.
“We see it more as people consuming them as snacks, rather than maybe the traditional uses in breakfasts and baking. But certainly, the flavor and the firmness are there—it has a really nice crunch to it and a high level of blueberry aromatics.”
