Culinary Raw lingonberries are 86% water, 13%
carbohydrates, 1%
protein, and contain negligible
fat. In a reference amount, lingonberries supply 54 kcal, and are low-to-moderate sources of
vitamin C,
B vitamins, and
dietary minerals. the Baltic states, central and northern Europe. In some areas, they can be picked legally on both public and private lands in accordance with the
freedom to roam. The berries are quite tart, so they are often cooked and sweetened before eating as
lingonberry jam, compote, juice, smoothie or syrup. The raw fruits are also frequently simply mashed with sugar. Fruit served this way or as compote often accompanies game and liver dishes. In
Sweden the traditional
Swedish meatballs are served with lingonberry jam alongside boiled or mashed potatoes and gravy sauce. In Sweden,
Finland and
Norway,
reindeer and
elk steaks are traditionally served with gravy and lingonberry sauce. Preserved fruit is commonly eaten with meatballs, as well as potato pancakes. A traditional Swedish dessert is (literally 'lingonberry pears'), consisting of fresh
pears which are peeled, boiled and preserved in (
lingonberry juice) and is commonly eaten during Christmas. This was very common in old times, because it was an easy way to preserve pears. In Sweden and
Russia, when
sugar was still a luxury item, the berries were usually preserved simply by putting them whole into bottles of water. This was known as (watered lingonberries); the procedure preserved them until next season. This was also a home remedy against
scurvy. This traditional Russian soft drink, known as "
lingonberry water", is mentioned by
Alexander Pushkin in
Eugene Onegin. In Russian
folk medicine, lingonberry water was used as a mild laxative. A traditional Finnish dish is
sautéed reindeer () with mashed potatoes and lingonberries on the side, either raw, thawed or as a jam. In Finland, whipped
semolina pudding flavored with lingonberry () is also popular. In
Poland, the berries are often mixed with
pears to create a sauce served with poultry or game. The berries can also be used to replace redcurrants when creating
Cumberland sauce. The berries are also popular as a wild picked fruit or fruit crop in
Newfoundland and Labrador, where they are locally known as partridgeberries or redberries. In this region they are incorporated into jams, syrups, fruit wines, cocktail bitters, sauces, and baked goods, such as pies, scones, cakes, and muffins. In Sweden lingonberries are often sold as jam and juice, and as a key ingredient in dishes. They are used to make Lillehammer berry liqueur; and, in East European countries, lingonberry
vodka is sold, and vodka with lingonberry juice or
mors is a cocktail. The berries are an important food for bears and foxes, and many fruit-eating birds. Caterpillars of the case-bearer moths
Coleophora glitzella,
Coleophora idaeella and
Coleophora vitisella are obligate feeders on
V. vitis-idaea leaves.
Indigenous North American cuisine Alaska natives mix the berries with
rose hip pulp and sugar to make jam, cook the berries as a sauce, and store the berries for future use. The
Dakelh use the berries to make jam. The
Koyukon freeze the berries for winter use.
Inuit dilute and sweeten the juice to make a beverage, freeze and store the berries for spring, and use the berries to make jams and jellies. The
Iñupiat use the berries to make two different desserts, one in which the berries are whipped with frozen fish eggs and eaten, and one in which raw berries are mashed with canned milk and seal oil. They also make a dish of the berries cooked with fish eggs, fish (whitefish,
sheefish or
pike) and
blubber. The
Upper Tanana boil the berries with sugar and flour to thicken; eat the raw berries, either plain or mixed with sugar, grease or a combination of the two; fry them in grease with sugar or dried fish eggs; or make them into pies, jam, and jelly. They also preserve the berries alone or in grease and store them in a birchbark basket in an underground cache, or freeze them.
Use of the minus subspecies The
Anticosti people use the fruit to make jams and jellies. The Nihithawak
Cree store the berries by freezing them outside during the winter, mix the berries with boiled fish eggs, livers, air bladders and fat and eat them, eat the berries raw as a snack food, or stew them with fish or meat. The
Iñupiat of
Nelson Island eat the berries, as do the Iñupiat of the Northern Bering Sea and Arctic regions of Alaska, as well as the
Inuvialuit. The
Haida people,
Hesquiaht First Nation,
Wuikinuxv and
Tsimshian all use the berries as food.
Traditional medicine In
traditional medicine,
V. vitis-idaea was used as an
apéritif and
astringent. The Upper Tanana ate the berries or used their juice to treat minor respiratory disorders.
Other uses The Nihithawak Cree use the berries of the
minus subspecies to color
porcupine quills, and put the firm, ripe berries on a string to wear as a necklace. The
Western Canadian Inuit use the
minus subspecies as a tobacco additive or substitute. In Newfoundland and Labrador, lingonberries or lingonberry extracts are frequently used in handmade soaps and candles. == Explanatory notes ==