Bog bilberry

The bog bilberry (Vaccinium uliginosum) is a common shrub found in peatlands and a close relative of the bilberry. It grows in wet heathlands, on the edges of peatlands and on lakeshores. In Northern Finland, it can also be spotted in heathland forests and rugged heathlands on the slopes of fells. The bog bilberry yields a larger harvest than berries such as cloudberry, cranberry or wild raspberry.

Bog bilberry is the largest of the northern species in its genus and very long-lived; the plant can even live up to 100 years of age. The bog bilberry can be found all across Finland. It is most commonly found in Kainuu and Lapland, whereas in the southern parts of the country and in the archipelago, it is rarer.

The leaves of the bog bilberry are obovate (oval with the narrower end at the base) and blueish with a pale underside. The edges are smooth and the leaves are thicker than those of the bilberry. The flowers are white or reddish. Bog bilberry flowers late, almost at the same time as lingonberry. The flowers rarely get frostbitten in riparian forests, which is why it may yield a great harvest even in years when the bilberry flowers are damaged by frost. Bog bilberries are picked in August.

Berries

The berries are larger than bilberries, egg-shaped, grey-blue and waxy-skinned. While bilberries have a dark, staining flesh, the pulp of bog bilberries is nearly colourless. Bog bilberries are quite mild-tasting due to their low acidity and sugar content.

Use

Bog bilberry is not the most popular of our wild berries. In Lapland, people used to add bog bilberries to fish, meat and bark gruel. The berries can be eaten straight from the shrub, but because of their mild taste, it is recommended to mix them with stronger-tasting berries, such as bilberry or blackcurrant. Bog bilberries can be used in porridge, soups, kissel and drinks. Use a steam juicer to make wonderful juice by mixing bog bilberries with bilberries or lingonberries, for example.

Health benefits

Bog bilberry contains more vitamin C than bilberry, and its mineral and other micronutrient contents are generally higher than those of lingonberry.

The bog bilberry is rich in natural antioxidants. Out of all berries, the bog bilberry boasts the highest content of one of the most effective flavonoids: quercetin. According to research by the University of Eastern Finland, bog bilberry contains about 16 mg of quercetin per 100 g of fresh berries. The second-highest quercetin content, at about 12 mg per 100 g of fresh berries, is found in lingonberry, and cranberry comes third with about 11 mg per 100 g of fresh berries.

Preservation

Bog bilberries can be preserved with bilberries, for example, either frozen or as jam.