Luis:

Getting into this whole "what has the most" antioxidants is going to turn out to be a poor use of your time. Why worry, unless you have evidence that you are oxidizing rapidly?

But if you must split this hair, the usual wisdom on the presence of antioxidants in berries and such has to do with the deep color of the berry in question. Thus, many people believe that smaller blueberries, with greater skin area and thus more color than the same amount of large blueberries, would have more antioxidants. And the deep purple blackberry has more than the raspberry, and so on and so on. Growers of sour cherries are excited because of reports that cherry juice has lot of antioxidants. Could be.

Sharpblue is a blueberry, and if blueberries have antioxidants it has them. If you subscribe to the skin area theory, it might have fewer than smaller blueberries, and it might have just as many. But I like bigger blueberries because they are easier to pick. I think blueberries are highly nutritious, like many other berries, but it is best to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables, even potatoes which I particularly like, but boiled, mashed or baked.

The best ways to stay alive in this country are to eat very little of french fries and chips, and drive your car carefully and courteously. I have noticed that very few people seem to agree with me.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

There have been quite a few studies that evaluate this, and it not only depends on the variety, but also the location and year it's grown in. Some varieties are higher in one year or location, while others are higher in other years and locations. So my advice is to pick a blueberry based on what will do well in your location (cold tolerance, chill hours, etc) and on the flavor (tart vs. sweet) rather than the antioxidant level.

What we do is easier than that. We plant them all and eat them all, so we're bound to get some antioxidants somewhere. We have 11 varieties and counting. I don't know why on earth anybody would settle for just one, as they're easy to grow.

Applenut

And of course you want two vars to get cross pollination. Fruitgirl is right that getting the vars which thrive and produce best in her area should be of upmost importance. What good would one do which doesn't produce many berries because its not adapted for her area? Sharpblue is great for peninsular Florida. Emerald is another choice which does well often where Sharpblue does.

Gary

I thought you didn't need two blueberry bushes to have pollination?

I mean I do - more so out of a desire for more blueberries - but I thought you didn't have to. Just getting my facts straight.

Anyhow I wouldn't worry about all this antioxidant fad. It's just a fad. It became a marketable phrase and people are going nuts over it. You were always getting them before and you'll be fine. Like someone said, unless the bonds holding your cells and body together are just breaking at an accelerated rate (which I can guarantee you they aren't) then you'll be fine. Most fruits contain antioxidants. Most foods contain antioxidants. Vitamin E is an antioxidant as well as C and A I believe. Hell the mineral Selenium can act as an antioxidant.

Don't worry about that. Just enjoy the taste. And rest assured that your blueberries will not spontaneously oxidize and go rancid on you!

I have a Sharpblue plant that was sent to me when I ordered something else. I thought it would not do well here, since it is so early. It has really surprised me. It is semi-evergreen, but really hardy. The big freeze this spring killed all the fruit, but did not damage the plant at all. This is the first time it has even had fruit damage from frosts. The fruit is really tart until fully ripe.

If you look at the anti-oxidant content of different varieties, you will notice that the bigger the berry, the lower the AO. This is because its all in the skins. Little Giant is reported to have really high levels, but it also has really small berries. Little berries means lots of skin and little pulp.

I agree with applenut that you should just eat them all, and not worry about the AO.