Over 40 years ago, a young farmer decided to turn a Gippsland cattle farm into a blueberry farm, growing big, plump, flavoursome heritage berries.
What is it?
Moondarra Blueberries is a small, family-run farm producing over a hundred different varieties of blueberries. The harvest season starts in mid-summer and runs until late autumn. Different varieties ripen at different times, meaning there is a continual supply of blueberries over summer and autumn. During that period, a selection of the best and most plump fruit is set aside and quick-frozen to create retail stock to last throughout the year. In 1990, Moondarra Blueberries transitioned into organic farming, and all of the fruit has been organic since.
Who’s producing it?
Mal Deveson bought 50 hectares of rich farming country at Moondarra, near Erica, in 1979. He wanted to do something other than raising cattle and was taken by the fledgling blueberry industry. “People thought Dad was a hippy when he started,” says his daughter Kate Prezioso. “There were a lot of eyebrows raised when we went organic and gave up chemical fertilisers and pesticides. I think it confirmed some peoples’ suspicions.” Prezioso now works in sales and marketing for the business, while her brother Joel Deveson works among the blueberries with his dad who, although officially retired, can’t keep away from the farm. Today the Deveson family are considered industry pioneers and leaders.
Where is it?
Up in the hills above the Latrobe Valley and sitting under the shadow of Mount Baw Baw are the rolling hills around the district of Moondarra. Here the soils are dark, rich and deep, and the elevation high enough for the cool-climate varieties of blueberries. The average rainfall is over a metre annually, making this the perfect place to raise the fruit.
Why it’s different?
The Deveson family specialise in heirloom varieties of blueberries. These may vary in size throughout the season, but what customers notice is the intensity of flavour and aroma. While modern varieties are bred for weight and a pop-in -the-mouth sensation, many varieties Moondarra Blueberries grow have finer skin, juicier flesh and are richly aromatic and deeply flavoursome – some varieties pack notes of lime, almond, rose petal, raspberry and musk. “My favourite is a variety called Denise,” says Prezioso. “It’s the black sheep of the blueberry flock. It is hard to pick, is flat, has a white bottom, is very sweet and so delicious.”
The other big difference is that the packaging is completely compostable, with the trays made from pulped and compressed sugar cane and the clear film made from a compostable biopolymer.
Who’s a fan?
“When they arrive freshly picked from the field there is nothing better,” says Trevor Perkins from Hogget Kitchen in the hills outside Warragul. “I snack on them. Flavour is the key; they’re packed with flavour.” Perkins’ partner, pastry chef Kylie Wilson is famed for her blueberry cheesecake made with a nutty, caramel-flavoured butternut snap biscuit base. This is filled with white chocolate and a rich, fresh cows’ milk cheese called Chamela from Butterfly Factory. This is topped with dehydrated blueberries, an intense blueberry sauce and half globes of sliced Moondarra Blueberries, and finished with pieces of honeycomb from Hogget Kitchen’s beehives.
“I stumbled across them at the veg out market in St Kilda and they were amazing,” says Stokehouse chef Jason Staudt. “They grow so many different varieties like the tiny, intensely flavoured ones called Mini Blue we use as a garnish.” In summer, Ash Smith, Staudt’s pastry chef at Stokehouse, makes a berry-filled crepe that is twisted, cut, fried and dusted in cinnamon sugar and topped with blueberry sorbet and Mini Blue blueberries. “We also pickle them to serve with savoury dishes like char-grilled wild-shot wallaby.”
Where can I get it?
Apple and Sage, Balwyn; Wholefood Merchants, Ferntree Gully; Ripe Organics, Prahran Market; Fritz on Parade, Clifton Hill; Rhubarb Rhubarb Organics, Preston Market, and at the St Kilda, Kingston and Gasworks farmers’ markets.
By Richard Cornish