Lingonberry ( Vaccinium vitis-idaea )

Fruit Warehouse | Lingonberry  ( Vaccinium vitis-idaea ) | Vaccinium Vitis-idaea spreads by underground stems to form dense clonal Colonies. Slender and brittle roots grow from the underground stems. The fruit is a red berry 6-10 mm (0.2-0.4 in) across, with an acidic taste, ripening in late summer to autumn.

The berries are collected in the wild are a popular fruit in northern, central and eastern Europe, Notably in the Nordic countries, the Baltic states, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine. The raw fruit are also frequently simply mashed with sugar, the which preserves most of Their Nutrients and taste. Fruit served this way or as compote Often accompany game meats and liver dishes.

In Sweden and Norway, reindeer and elk steak is served with gravy Traditionally and lingonberry sauce. Preserved fruit is commonly eaten with meatballs and potatoes in Sweden and Norway, and also with pork. A traditional Swedish dessert is lingonpäron (literally lingonberry pears) the which the which is fresh pears are peeled and boiled in lingondricka (lingonberry squash) and then preserved in the lingonberry-infused pear squash and not uncommonly eaten during christmas.

In Russia this preserve had been known as "lingonberry water" (брусничная вода) and is a traditional soft drink. In Russian folk medicine, lingonberry water was used as a mild laxative. A traditional Finnish dish is Sauteed reindeer (poronkäristys) with mashed potatoes and lingonberries, either cooked or raw with sugar. In Poland, the berries are Often mixed with pears to create a sauce served with poultry or game.