A Golden Gift From the Far North

BY AWAKE! WRITER IN SWEDEN

‘What shall we take along as a gift that is typical of our country?’ my wife and I wondered before leaving Sweden to visit some friends in England. Wanting to make our gift of homemade Nordic cloudberry jam educational, we composed an informative label based mainly on our own observations and some local references. The following is the result of our research.

What Are Cloudberries?

The cloudberry, Rubus Chamaemorus in Latin, grows on plants less than 12 inches [30 cm] in height. Each plant produces only one white flower and one berry. When unripe, the berry is red and hard, but as it matures, it turns golden-yellow or amber and becomes soft and juicy. Its name, cloudberry, is possibly derived from the fact that in northern England cloudberries grow on mountains at low cloud levels. You will also find them in moist areas, mainly in the tundra and the swamps throughout the southern Arctic. In Sweden they usually ripen in August, when the Nordic autumn closes in.

The Gold of the Swamps

For centuries the native Lapp people have gathered cloudberries for winter food. They are rich in vitamin C and other vitamins, and since they contain a natural preservative, cloudberry jam will stay fresh for years if kept cool. Since early settlers in these northern regions lived mainly on meat and fish, cloudberries became an important vitamin complement. No wonder they have been called the gold of the swamps!

Nowadays, great quantities of cloudberries are gathered for delivery to supermarkets and industry. In Sweden, for example, during a normal year, the market may handle over a thousand tons of cloudberries​—all handpicked! Diligent cloudberry pickers, often schoolchildren on vacation, may make some very welcome pocket money in this way. The Finns have even honored the cloudberry by embossing it on their new two-euro coin!

A Palatable Experience

The cloudberry has a fresh, sweet-sourish taste. You may find cloudberry jam or preserves and even cloudberry-flavored liqueurs in delicatessens or other stores in major cities in Europe and the United States. Cloudberry ice cream parfait has often been on the dessert menu at the annual gala dinner for Nobel Prize winners, held in Stockholm, Sweden. Exclusive restaurants may serve the jam hot with vanilla ice cream. Additionally, the jam goes perfectly well with Swedish cheesecake or fried Camembert cheese and is also a delicious tart filling. Golden cloudberry liqueur is produced in Finland, and cloudberry wine has recently been introduced to the wine market in Sweden.

If you ever happen to be where cloudberries are growing, pick them and enjoy tasting them fresh, preferably dotted with castor sugar, with a big dollop of whipped cream on top. You will find them worth their weight in gold​—and you may feel moved to thank your Creator for this delicious gift.