One of Australia’s largest blueberry growing regions has produced a world record-breaking fruit the size of a ping-pong ball.
Guinness World Records on Tuesday publicly officiated that the giant blueberry weighed 20.4 grams – at least six times the average fruit weight of between 1 gram and 3.5 grams.
The gigantic fruit was picked at a farm at Corindi, managed by Costa Berries, on the New South Wales Mid North Coast in November last year.
Costa Berries Corindi blueberry lead with Brad Hocking said his team was overjoyed to have the record officially verified after 12 weeks of waiting. “It’s a combination of good breeding and good growing,” Mr Hocking said.
“It’s a combination of good breeding and good growing,” Mr Hocking said.
The giant blueberry has been in an industrial freezer since being picked in November to preserve it while the official verification process was undertaken.
Mr Hocking and his team have pondered what to do with it.
“We all look at it occasionally and smile,” he said.
“I don’t think a smoothie wouldn’t be the right fate for it.”
Bumper year leads to big blueberry
The blueberry belongs to the new Eterna variety developed by the company in response to consumer demand for larger berry sizes across Australia.
Mr Hocking said the team had been developing the variety for more than two years.
He said the company had enjoyed especially favorable conditions last spring when the massive fruit was discovered.
“We got the horticultural team together and had a walk through the block and basically cherry picked out what we saw as the best fruit,” he said.
“We probably had 20 or more fruit that would have broken the previous world record that morning.
“We had to recalibrate the scales to make sure we weren’t getting mixed up.”
Mr. Hocking said there was no compromise with the flavor of the larger variety.
“The eating experience is really great with the size, it’s still nice and sweet and firm,” he said.
Size isn’t everything
The new record comes in 4.2 grams heavier than the previous record of 16.2 grams, set by farmers in Western Australia in 2020.
Costa Berries international horticulture manager George Jessett said while size was becoming a focus of breeding programs internationally, it was not the sole factor for a good blueberry.
“Size is only part of the equation,” he said.
“We’re also looking for firmer fruit textures, crispy fruit, great flavour with aromatic balance.
“It’s about ensuring we have a consistent berry that’s got a great shelf life.”
Mr Jessett said the company would begin increasing it’s production volume with the aim of reaching consumers in Australia within the next two years.
Guinness World Records was approached for comment.