Australian blueberry 70 times larger than normal nabs world record for heaviest berry
That’ll make a “berry” hefty pie.
A massive Australia-grown blueberry weighing in at 20.40 grams (0.71 ounces) — roughly 70 times the weight of an average piece of the fruit — nabbed a Guinness World Record for heaviest blueberry ever recorded.
The previous record was 4.2 grams lighter than the blueberry grown by Brad Hocking, Jessica Scalzo and Marie-France Courtois at Costa’s berry farm in Corindi, New South Wales.
The ping pong-sized fruit comes from the “Eterna” variety, which is known for having “great flavor” and baring “consistently large fruit,” according to Hocking.
“When we picked this one, there were probably around 20 other berries of a similar size,” he told Guinness World Records.
The “Eterna” berry — which was developed by Costa’s Variety Improvement Program — is known for having a long shelf life and a crisp texture.
“This really is a delightful piece of fruit. While the fruit is large, there’s absolutely no compromise on quality or flavor as would be expected when developing a premium variety blueberry,” Hocking said.
It took 12 months to grow the berry and Hocking knew from the moment he picked it that he had “something really special,” he told Guinness.
The berry was picked in November, according to CBS News.
The Costa group develops up to two new varieties of blueberries per year and mainly focuses on creating berries that are more adaptable to hotter climates and tolerant of pests, Guinness said.
Costa’s farms also grow grapes, avocados, tomatoes and mushrooms.
“While our primary production goal is consistently high fruit quality, we do get great size in all our crops,” Hocking said.
The team at Costa is considering casting the berry in resin to preserve it and mounting their prize winner on the wall, Hocking told BBC.
Costa provides fruit to Driscoll and other companies.
