Lingonberries: red berries from conifer forest and heath
Lingonberries grow on low, evergreen dwarf shrubs in conifer forests, on heaths and in the mountains. In late summer and autumn they carry clusters of bright red, sour berries that keep for a long time when cooked. Here you learn to recognise the lingonberry by its leathery leaves with dark dots underneath, to rule out bearberry and lily of the valley, to pick gently and to cook the berries into a compote.
- Picking 30–60 minutes for a bowl; cooking 15 minutes
Expliqué simplement
Lingonberries grow on very small shrubs in conifer forests and in the mountains. They are red, sour and hang in small clusters. Cooked with a little sugar they become a compote that keeps for a long time.
The lingonberry's leaves stay green even in winter. They are firm like leather, and on the underside they have many tiny dark dots. These dots are the recognition mark.
The poisonous lily of the valley also has red berries, but completely different, large soft leaves. If there are no dots under the leaf, it is not a lingonberry.
Comment ça marche
The lingonberry is adapted to poor, acidic soils. Its leathery, evergreen leaves lose little water and do not have to be grown anew every year – that saves strength in a place with few nutrients.
The dark dots on the leaf underside are small glands. You can see them with the naked eye if you look closely, and they are the best feature against the similar bearberry.
The berries contain a lot of acid and natural substances that slow the growth of germs. That is why cooked lingonberry compote keeps unusually long, and in Scandinavia the berries used to be stored simply covered in water.
Ce qui compte vraiment
Turn the leaf over. Glossy upper side, rolled edge and dark dots underneath – that is the lingonberry. The bearberry has no dots but a fine net of veins and tends to creep over stony ground.
Pick by hand. Berry combs are faster but tear off leaves and shoots and are banned in some areas. Leave unripe, whitish berries hanging.
Bogs are off limits. The related cranberry grows there, but bogs are protected, sensitive and can be dangerous because you sink in.
Sécurité : à quoi faire attention
Lily of the valley berries are poisonous. They hang on a single stalk between large, soft leaves, not on small woody twigs. If poisoning is suspected, call the poison line and keep the remains.
Wash berries growing close to the ground thoroughly – fox tapeworm eggs can stick to them. Cooking kills them reliably.
Fill cooked compote into clean jars and store cool. If it smells fermented or shows mould, throw it away.
Pas à pas
Where lingonberries grow
Lingonberries like acidic, poor soils: open pine and spruce forests, heaths and dwarf-shrub heaths in the mountains. They often grow together with bilberries as a low carpet, only ankle- to calf-high. The berries are ripe from August to October.
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Where lingonberries grow
Lingonberries like acidic, poor soils: open pine and spruce forests, heaths and dwarf-shrub heaths in the mountains. They often grow together with bilberries as a low carpet, only ankle- to calf-high. The berries are ripe from August to October.
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Leathery leaves with dots
The leaves are small, egg-shaped, dark green, glossy and firm like leather. The edge is slightly rolled under. Turn a leaf over: on the paler underside you see many tiny dark dots. These dots are the most important feature.
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Berry clusters at the tips
The berries are round, pea-sized, bright red and hang in small clusters at the ends of the twigs. On top each berry has a small remnant of the flower. They taste clearly sour and slightly bitter.
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Rule out bearberry and lily of the valley
Bearberry grows as a creeping carpet, its leaves have no dots underneath but a fine net of veins, and its berries are mealy and bland. Lily of the valley has large, soft, lance-shaped leaves and red berries on a single stalk, not on dwarf-shrub twigs. Only berries on twigs with dotted leathery leaves are lingonberries.
No dots under the leaf = not a lingonberry.
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Pick gently
Pick the berries with your fingers, cluster by cluster, and leave unripe berries hanging. Do not tear off twigs. Berry combs are banned in some areas because they damage the plants – when in doubt, only by hand. Leave enough for animals.
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Trier et laver
Tip the berries onto a light cloth and pick out leaves, needles, unripe and squashed berries. Check once more that nothing else is in between. Then wash them thoroughly in several rounds.
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Cook into compote
Put the berries in a pot with a little water and boil them for about 10 minutes until they burst. Sweeten with sugar or honey. Filled hot into clean jars, lingonberry compote keeps a long time. It goes with meat, flatbreads, porridge and pancakes.
Erreurs courantes
- Not checking the leaf underside
- Stripping whole shrubs with combs or rakes
- Walking into bogs
- Eating them unwashed
- Tearing off twigs
Aperçu rapide
Matériel
Récipient de cueillette rigide (boîte, panier ou gobelet)
Rigide, pour que les baies ne soient pas écrasées
Une espèce par récipient – ne jamais y mélanger quelque chose d'inconnu
Poche à eau de qualité alimentaire
For washing
À utiliser uniquement pour l'eau potable, jamais pour des produits chimiques ni du carburant.
Casserole en métal (acier inoxydable, aluminium, titane)
For compote
Chaud – risque de brûlure.
Convient pour
- August to October
- Conifer forests, heaths, mountains
- Stores: keeps a long time when cooked
Ne convient pas pour
- Bogs and protected areas – do not enter
- Red berries on plants without leathery, dotted leaves
- Picking with a comb or rake where it is banned
Prérequis
- Being able to tell lingonberry and bearberry apart by the leaf underside
- Knowing lily of the valley berries
- Knowing the region's collecting rules
Sécurité
- The related cranberry grows in raised bogs. Bogs are sensitive, often protected and can be dangerous because you can sink in. Do not enter, do not collect.
- Berries close to the ground can be contaminated with fox tapeworm eggs. Wash them thoroughly; cooking kills the eggs reliably.
Comment ça marche
The lingonberry is an evergreen dwarf shrub: its leaves stay on the shrub in winter, are firm and leathery and carry tiny dark gland dots on the underside. The berries hang in small clusters at the shoot tips. Their acidity and natural preservatives make cooked lingonberries keep for a long time.
Avantages
- Easy to recognise by the leaf underside
- Keeps a long time
- Often in large amounts
- Also in the mountains
Inconvénients
- Very sour raw
- Laborious picking
- Peu de calories sans sucre
- Regional collecting rules
Connaissances approfondies
Contexte technique
Lingonberries have long been part of the cuisine in Scandinavia, the Alpine region and Eastern Europe – classically with game and pancakes. Cooked, the berries keep unusually long because they contain a lot of acid and natural preservatives.
The lingonberry is easy to recognise if you never forget a single feature: the dark dots on the leaf underside. Anyone who also avoids bogs and protected areas and picks only by hand collects safely and gently.
Variantes
- Stirred raw
- Stir washed lingonberries with sugar until the sugar dissolves. In Scandinavia this is a well-known preparation. Store cool and eat soon.
- Berries in winter
- Lingonberries often stay on the shrub into winter and are then milder from the frost. Under snow they are hard to find, but the evergreen leaves give the plant away.
Erreurs courantes
- Not checking the leaf underside
- Stripping whole shrubs with combs or rakes
- Walking into bogs
- Eating them unwashed
- Tearing off twigs
Limites et risques
- Pas une clé de détermination complète
- Applies to Central Europe and the Alps
- Collecting rules differ by country and area
- Aucune promesse de guérison
Alternatives de matériaux
Déduit des propriétés des matériaux : un substitut doit avoir toutes les propriétés requises. Respectez les remarques sur le substitut.
- Récipient de cueillette rigide (boîte, panier ou gobelet)
- Casserole en métal (acier inoxydable, aluminium, titane) (Chaud – risque de brûlure.), Bouteille en acier inoxydable à simple paroi (Ne chauffez que des bouteilles à simple paroi, sans peinture ni plastique ; retirez le bouchon avant de chauffer.), Bouteille isotherme à double paroi (Ne jamais chauffer directement.), Bouteille en PET (transparente, 2 litres max.) (Ne pas chauffer ni placer dans un feu.), Bidon d'eau de qualité alimentaire (Utilisez uniquement des récipients qui n'ont jamais contenu de produits chimiques ni de carburant.), Boîte de conservation hermétique, adaptée au contact alimentaire (Ne remplir que lorsqu'elle est propre et complètement sèche ; n'utilisez jamais de récipients ayant contenu des produits chimiques.), Bidon ou sac à eau pliable (Protéger des objets pointus.), Verre doseur, Poche à eau de qualité alimentaire (À utiliser uniquement pour l'eau potable, jamais pour des produits chimiques ni du carburant.), Bocal ou pot de fermentation (Utilisez uniquement des récipients alimentaires en verre, en grès émaillé adapté au contact alimentaire ou en plastique alimentaire – pas de récipients en métal pour les aliments acides.), Sachets alimentaires refermables (N'utilisez que des sachets destinés aux aliments ; ne les utilisez pas avec de l'eau bouillante, sauf si le fabricant l'autorise expressément.), Sac ou panier de cueillette aéré (Cueillir chaque espèce séparément pour qu'aucune plante inconnue ne se mélange)
- Poche à eau de qualité alimentaire
- Bouteille en acier inoxydable à simple paroi (Ne chauffez que des bouteilles à simple paroi, sans peinture ni plastique ; retirez le bouchon avant de chauffer.), Bouteille isotherme à double paroi (Ne jamais chauffer directement.), Bouteille en PET (transparente, 2 litres max.) (Ne pas chauffer ni placer dans un feu.), Bidon d'eau de qualité alimentaire (Utilisez uniquement des récipients qui n'ont jamais contenu de produits chimiques ni de carburant.), Boîte de conservation hermétique, adaptée au contact alimentaire (Ne remplir que lorsqu'elle est propre et complètement sèche ; n'utilisez jamais de récipients ayant contenu des produits chimiques.), Bidon ou sac à eau pliable (Protéger des objets pointus.), Bocal ou pot de fermentation (Utilisez uniquement des récipients alimentaires en verre, en grès émaillé adapté au contact alimentaire ou en plastique alimentaire – pas de récipients en métal pour les aliments acides.), Sachets alimentaires refermables (N'utilisez que des sachets destinés aux aliments ; ne les utilisez pas avec de l'eau bouillante, sauf si le fabricant l'autorise expressément.)
- Casserole en métal (acier inoxydable, aluminium, titane)
- Bouteille en acier inoxydable à simple paroi (Ne chauffez que des bouteilles à simple paroi, sans peinture ni plastique ; retirez le bouchon avant de chauffer.)
Les résultats proviennent exclusivement d'entrées structurées. Aucune instruction improvisée n'est générée.
Sources (5)
- Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung (BfR) (2017): Risiko Pflanze – Einschätzung und Hinweise · Lily of the valley with red berries as a poisonous plant
- Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung (BfR): Giftpflanzen: Wie kann man sich schützen und was ist bei einer Vergiftung zu tun? (Fragen und Antworten) · Only collect what you recognise reliably; what to do in case of poisoning
- Bundesrepublik Deutschland (gesetze-im-internet.de) (2009): Gesetz über Naturschutz und Landschaftspflege (Bundesnaturschutzgesetz – BNatSchG), insbesondere § 39 und § 30 · Protected habitats such as bogs; collecting only in small amounts and without damage
- Robert Koch-Institut: RKI-Ratgeber Echinokokkose · Transmission du ténia du renard par des œufs avalés ; lavage, cuisson, lavage des mains
- Gesundheitsportal Österreich (gesundheit.gv.at), Bundesministerium für Soziales, Gesundheit, Pflege und Konsumentenschutz: Vergiftungsinformationszentrale (VIZ) · Centre d'information toxicologique en Autriche (VIZ), joignable jour et nuit ; en cas de danger immédiat 112 ou 144