Lingonberry jam

Lingonberry jam (Swedish: lingonsylt, Norwegian: tyttebærsyltetøy, Danish: tyttebærsyltetøj, Estonian: pohlamoos, Finnish: puolukkahillo, German: Preiselbeermarmelade, Latvian: brūkleņu ievārījums, Lithuanian: bruknių džemas) is a staple food in Scandinavian cuisine. Lingonberries (Vaccinium vitis-idaea) are known as mountain cranberries or partridge berries in North America from Alaska to Labrador.

History

Because lingonberries are plentiful in the forested areas of the Swedish inland, they are widely collected for jam. It has always been very popular with traditional dishes such as kroppkakor, pitepalt, potato cake, kåldolmar, mustamakkara and black pudding. Today, lingonberries are often served as jam, for instance with oven-made thick pancakes, or they may be served as a relish with meat courses such as meatballs, beef stew or liver dishes; regionally, they are even served with fried herring. The jam is also often used on mashed potatoes and the traditional oatmeal porridge, sometimes together with cinnamon, and, perhaps, a little sugar or syrup.