Ole’s Lingonbery Jam Recipe
By Marta Knutsen
Pick, de-stem, de-leaf, and wash fresh berries.
Try to use about 2 pounds of berries minimum.
Add 1 cup of sugar or add sugar to taste if berries are sweeter.
Grate in zest of one lemon.
Heat in pot on medium and stir frequently until jam and berries are a deep red and translucent.
Place in jars with lids and provide good headspace.
Let jam cool.
If any tops don’t seal, use immediately or freeze for later use.
Number of jars depends on size of jars and number of berries and amount of sugar used.
Enjoy on breads, crepes, pancakes, sweet rolls, ice cream, cheeses, meatballs, or fish.
Ole likes when I make Trollkrem (Norwegian Lingonberry Mousse), but that’s a recipe for another day.
Lingonberry Facts Or in Norwegian Tyttebærsyltetøy
Pronunciation: LIN-GHUN-BERRIES
Lingonberries are prominent in Scandinavian countries. The berries are similar in taste and appearance to cranberries. When picked in the wilds of Norway, the berries can ripen from anywhere to June through October. Ole has a few potted bushes on our boat that ripen in June and July most often with a second season in September and October. When the summers are mild, otherwise we get one fruiting season. We most often can our berries in jam but sometimes we juice them. The scientific genus/species name for the berry is Vaccinium vitis-idaea. The berries are pectin and acid laden and therefore can be kept for months at room temperature by placing in water and a small amount of sugar. This is called rørte tyttebær in Norwegian. The berries can be made and canned into jam in similar fashion. These berries are the American equivalent to blackberries in abundance in the wild. Lingonberries have many health benefits due to polyphenols and antioxidants in the berries. The natural benzoic acid is what helps the berries have a long shelf life with little preparation. The shrubs are evergreen so have leaves all year long. Other more common names for the lingonberry are cowberry, dry ground cranberry, foxberry, mountain cranberry, northern mountain cranberry, partridgeberry, red whortleberry, rock cranberry, and wolfberry. The berry is part of the cranberry family.
Ole love’s his lingonberries. He inherited the seeds from his grandmother in Norway. He tends his three bushes carefully. Not a day goes by when he isn’t out on deck and tending to his little beauties. When it comes time to harvest, we get about ten pounds of berries. I usually juice two and make all the rest into jam. While I haven’t tried the traditional jam recipe, I prefer to heat my jam. I sometimes add other berries and make mixed berry jam with the lingonberries. This is useful when our harvest is low. Since we live on the Neuse river in downtown New Bern, we like to go to local berry festivals in our county. Vanceboro has a strawberry festival every May and the town of Bridgeton has recently started a blueberry festival. Both events are fun and entertaining, not to mention there are plenty of berries for all to enjoy! Both berries go well in our mixed jams, so I usually try make some. I didn’t this year as our lingonberries were very prolific. Maybe next year will be a mixed berry jam year. Until then, bye for now!
Note to all my friends and family reading this: Please note the characters mentioned in this blog are purely fictional. Any resemblance to anyone is purely coincidental.
This is a blog post from a fictional character idea for a short film I'm currently working on. I have had much inspiration from family heritage for the characters I am developing. Please read and enjoy (the recipe is real) and let me know what you think. Thanks everyone for your support and encouragement.
Regards,
Brandie
References:
Pictures courtesy of Flickr
Haataja, J. (2013, September 29). Lingonberry [Digital image]. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/jiihaa/10005387396/in/photolist-gf9e6f-8a6iJL-b7Reug-ecmFyv-6SaDSy-6m22yj-5mh67T-p67Ffd-765aEo-ecmFyR-e4XdYQ-pNQpHz-ecsjb3-8urrvb-5dRKdr-KQYKk-a8vdUu-oBBzBH-9Fr16o-2aiN83-6LRkQM-6UY87j-ah6Wo8-acdXpP-B3Eezu-yGBzho-8v3ZMz-fwaFj5-wfrQu-9Xqmhe-5moCq8-qdpGgK-pDcuzK-nC5cGe-aZeRAK-4r3bTZ-oGtmNQ-dFYicm-akcKUy-bAggv8-6TX3jF-2DUfua-cdufRy-7cefPj-2Dt4ad-d2af2j-6V2cJ3-6PLU64-7zxjTE-cZ1WjY
Irving, S. (2011, January 12). Lingonberry banana jam [Digital image]. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/shaeirving/5349905079/in/photolist-99KEoK-paQALG-TVrYq3-5UAQU-qeAPxH-aG91jT-8vCwMv-fD2AYo-HV3v6r-bNehrR-EZa6fX-7NeWq7-6mFfL-6qhnMc-onZj1H-oQDyqn-G93f2-nKcDcs-5V7GmN-6APVQg-trvGY-ceJek-hPgV1U-TU55Hd-59XheC-b3iKFi-fEhq6v-z9TVb4-fKif1K-8ymN9Z-77nQxr-7NwJej-BuzPPs-74dYB2-7wAsXi-7stCqA-fkuhM4-5gSSMr-bT7PVk-8EGSsH-6V4x85-fpazcR-9n1rPm-6WdmLK-4djPHb-eu9Xqy-7x3iN-cQTAx7-WGL7Hq-5W8mo5
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