Free jewels from Finnish forests
It is May in Finland. Days have been almost unnoticeably prolonged for long and the sun doesn’t set in the northernmost Finland for two months. Nightless nights are here. The orchestra of birds is almost deafening, and the nature starts to bloom.
This might be one of the most spectacular times of the year. Despite all the beauty nature has to offer, Finns utilize their forestry surroundings when the season changes. This happens because Finnish forests are full of free jewels that flourish and prosper especially due to the amount of available sunlight. These jewels are true vitamin bombs and – what’s trendy to say – superfood. Berries!
We love berries, as they can be found practically spoken from everywhere. They are delicious. They are nutritious. And they are free to collect. Of course, you shouldn’t cross somebody’s yard but everyman’s rights in Finland allow you to pick as much as you like. We want to introduce you our 3 top choices what to look for if you happen to be in Finland during Summer or Autumn when it is the best season for berry picking.
Let’s start off with one of the most interesting and not so well-known beauty, crowberry. This humble berry loses the battle of choice for more beloved blueberry in general but in its nutritious side it is the king of the forests. It is fully loaded with vitamins and fibres and tops the list when talking about overall number of flavonoids. It is unutilized considering how easily it can be found from dry and medium-covered forests all around in Lapland. The taste is quite mild by itself but if you mix this berry with its cousin, blueberry, you’ll get excellent juice concentrate.
Our second choice can be nothing else than the Lappish gold, cloudberry. This golden treasure is coveted by locals and its growing places are almost national secrets. It is a true northern berry, as it grows often in the most distant and hard-reached places, swamps. Golden colour, its unique, sweet taste and harsh growing conditions make this berry not only the most expensive berry in Finland but also excellent ingredient for jams, marmalades and liquors. Only if you can find it!
Finally, our own favourite and for many good reasons – cranberry. You might have tasted cranberry juice before but often the taste is unfortunately quite artificial. This berry is not the most usual choice even for Finns to pick, as the growing season alters from the other berries. Cranberry can be harvested after the first few frosty nights. This means October or November. As it grows typically in pairs, we like to call it the Finnish cherry.
Hand-picking is time-consuming and cold work (due to those frosty nights) but what crowns this berry is that there are two seasons to pick it; during late Autumn OR just when the snow melts during spring. This berry preserves itself for the winter and is still delicious during spring. Try it out; make a soup out of it or perhaps more ecological juice concentrate and you won’t disappoint.
Join us in Lapland for midnight sun berry hunts this summer. We will happily guide you to best places and show you what you can make out of these Finnish jewels of the forest!