Kitchen

[Nightowlz]

 @Ainhisg wrote:

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@Nightowlz wrote:

 I like to sprinkle muffins & quick breads with turbinado sugar. We like the crunch it gives them.

Chances are if you made less of the Betty Crocker muffins they would have been larger & pretty like the other batch. 

Looks like the Krusteaz mix had more mix in the box?

I used to make box muffins long ago. We pretty much make most things from scratch now. 

Yum. I love blueberry anything. 

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Good morning, @Nightowlz .  I actually did make less of the BC.  I was using a slightly heaped 1/8 measuring cup for both mixes, and the BC mix made one less.  Each cup was about 3/4 full for both brands of muffins.

The boxes were similar in weight--BC was 16.9oz and K was 17.1.  The K did call for twice as much oil, though.

In the summer, I do make muffins from scratch, because here in Missouri, that is the only time blueberries are sweet.  Buying them in the winter almost always guarantees either no taste or a sour taste. So in my original post, I had asked about using a mix, since I want to take muffins to a Christmas breakfast.  On the original thread, a generous poster gave me a recipe using frozen berries, and I am going to give that recipe a try in the future.

Have a blessed day!

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@Ainhisg 

Wonder why the K would rise more? I know when I made the BC they turn out the same way? It would be nice if they would rise more. 

If you freeze your fresh blueberries will they still be sweet come winter?

I buy organic frozen blueberries. I know fresh always tastes better. Everything we grow in the garden sure tastes better then store bought. 

I use frozen blueberries in muffins. I put them in a plastic baggie with 1/4 cup of muffin mixture before I add them.

Enjoy your muffins Christmas morning.   

Someone else mentioned blueberry bread. Here's the recipe I use. It came from AllRecipes. It's really good. We make it a lot.

Blueberry Bread

1 ½ cups AP flour

3/4 c sugar

2 t baking powder

1/8 t salt

1/2 c milk

1/4 c oil or butter

1 egg

1/2 t vanilla

1 to 1 ½ c blueberries (I use frozen)

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a loaf pan.

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder & salt in a large bowl.

Stir milk, oil, egg, & vanilla into flour mixture until batter is just blended.

Gently fold blueberries into batter; pour into prepared loaf pan.

Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 60 to 70 minutes.

I put the frozen blueberries in about ¼ cup of flour mixture & put in freezer til I need to add it to batter. I also put Turbinado sugar on top.

[Ainhisg]

@Nightowlz I have enjoyed visiting with you!  The K mix called for 2/3 cup of oil while the BC mix called for 1/3 cup, so that plus being different mixes probably made the K rise more. 

I have never thought of freezing fresh blueberries.  Do I just wash them, let them dry, and then freeze?  I will have to try that to see what happens.  Thank you for telling me how you combine the frozen berries with the mixture before adding; I had wondered about that.  Thank you, too, for the bread recipe!!!

[charsha]

I love the review on both brands. Good to have on hand as a back up. However, if possible, scratch baking is the best.

[sabatini]

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@Ainhisg wrote:

@Nightowlz I have enjoyed visiting with you!  The K mix called for 2/3 cup of oil while the BC mix called for 1/3 cup, so that plus being different mixes probably made the K rise more. 

I have never thought of freezing fresh blueberries.  Do I just wash them, let them dry, and then freeze?  I will have to try that to see what happens.  Thank you for telling me how you combine the frozen berries with the mixture before adding; I had wondered about that.  Thank you, too, for the bread recipe!!!

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@Ainhisg, I'm not @Nightowlz, but am jumping in about blueberries! I'm sure many people do what you mentioned, but I don't.
When unloading my groceries, I just pop the whole container of fresh berries right into the freezer.
On a good day, I'll first put the container into a ziploc. 
I haven't died yet!

It's so nice to always have blueberries ready to go when I want them.

ETA: Just throw the frozen berries into the batter you're using. 
When making pancakes, after I've ladled the batter onto the skillet, I throw some blueberries atop each.

[Nightowlz]

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@Ainhisg wrote:

@Nightowlz I have enjoyed visiting with you!  The K mix called for 2/3 cup of oil while the BC mix called for 1/3 cup, so that plus being different mixes probably made the K rise more. 

I have never thought of freezing fresh blueberries.  Do I just wash them, let them dry, and then freeze?  I will have to try that to see what happens.  Thank you for telling me how you combine the frozen berries with the mixture before adding; I had wondered about that.  Thank you, too, for the bread recipe!!!

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@Ainhisg 

Hi, Ainhisg I have enjoyed visiting with you too.

I always wash my fruit in water vinegar solution. I just cleaned red grapes & strawberries yesterday.

I looked online to see what it says about freezing blueberries. I read info at blueberry dot org which has lots of yummy blueberry recipes. Their white chocolate blueberry cookies look good. They are purple.

I also checked Pioneer Woman's site.

It says not to wash blueberries before freezing. Blueberries have a coating on them called Bloom to prevent mold & freezer burn. Wash them after you take them out of the freezer.

Put the blueberries in a single layer not touching on a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Freeze 2-3 hrs or overnight. Store in freezer ziplock bags about 10 months.

This is the same thing I do with fresh peaches. They last about 9 months. 

Some do wash them but you have to make sure they are dry or you will end up with a frozen clump.

Now I need to grow my own blueberries. 

[Nightowlz]

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@sabatini wrote:

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@Ainhisg wrote:

@Nightowlz I have enjoyed visiting with you!  The K mix called for 2/3 cup of oil while the BC mix called for 1/3 cup, so that plus being different mixes probably made the K rise more. 

I have never thought of freezing fresh blueberries.  Do I just wash them, let them dry, and then freeze?  I will have to try that to see what happens.  Thank you for telling me how you combine the frozen berries with the mixture before adding; I had wondered about that.  Thank you, too, for the bread recipe!!!

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@Ainhisg, I'm not @Nightowlz, but am jumping in about blueberries! I'm sure many people do what you mentioned, but I don't.
When unloading my groceries, I just pop the whole container of fresh berries right into the freezer.
On a good day, I'll first put the container into a ziploc. 
I haven't died yet!

It's so nice to always have blueberries ready to go when I want them.

ETA: Just throw the frozen berries into the batter you're using. 
When making pancakes, after I've ladled the batter onto the skillet, I throw some blueberries atop each.

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@sabatini @Ainhisg 

I did read it said you could store in the container it comes in. I thought the blueberries would end up with freezer burn.

One article I read said it has a coating on it called Bloom. Never heard of that. Bloom keeps them from mold or freezer burn so the containers they come in should work. I don't know how they will work the longer they are in the freezer.

I have a freezer in the garage I have to manually defrost so my freezer stays a constant temp.

Freezers on the refrigerator defrost on/off so the food gets freezer burn.

[sabatini]

@Nightowlz, they're always perfect. Never freezer burnt. That's why they're such an easy berry to have on hand.