Bilberry – Blueberry?

By Nordic Temptations? ?

The blue berries we have for sale are deliberately sold under false name, or would you know what we talk about if we called them bilberries?

Wild bilberries (Vaccinium myrtillus) are many times richer in beneficial components than industrially grown blueberries. The wild bilberry is rich in trace elements, vitamins A and E, flavonoids, carotenoids and dietary fiber, why it is often called a Nordic superberry. The most significant health benefit of the bilberry, however, is the anthocyanin compounds it contains. The wild bilberry is three to four times richer in these flavonoids than is the related highbush blueberry, a cultivated plant. Bilberries are dark in color, and usually appear near black with a slight shade of purple. While blueberry fruit pulp is light green in color, bilberry is red or purple, possibly staining the fingers, lips, and tongue of consumers when eating the raw fruit, a color effect from significant anthocyanin content.

The bright Northern summer ripens a luscious harvest of berries in the forests and bogs every year, which anyone who spends time in nature can benefit from. The annual crop of forest berries is estimated at over 500 million kg (only in Finland!), while the amount picked only adds up to about 3?10% of the entire crop in the case of lingonberries and bilberries, for example.

Bilberries have a subtle and pleasant taste that is suitable for many purposes. Some inspiration for the use of bilberries from the enclosed recipes

Christine Byrne’s – Blueberry Nice

Greatist.com – Healthy Blueberry Recipes

We at Nordic Temptations stock bilberries in several different forms including frozen and powdered, to meet the needs of even the most demanding use.