Cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus)
Cloudberry is a circumpolar boreal plant, which can be naturally found throughout the northern hemisphere. The berries are very appreciated and considered a delicacy. They are packed with vitamin C and can be used for alcoholic beverages or served with ice cream or a certain kind of cheese. But the leaves of the plant can also be used for tea.
Text by Axel Palmé (student).
The ripe fruits are orange, soft and juicy and are rich in vitamin C. They are often made into jam, tarts and sometimes liqueurs. In Finland cloudberries are commonly eaten with leipäjuusto, a kind of cheese, or made into lakkalikööri, an alcoholic beverage. In Sweden they’re popular as a topping for ice cream, waffles and pancakes. In Norway they are frequently mixed with whipped cream and sugar to form a desert called multekrem.
Due to cloudberries high vitamin C content, the berries are highly appreciated. Thanks to compounds contained within the berries they can be naturally preserved in their own juices if they’re are kept cool.
Even though cloudberries are considered a delicacy in most parts of Scandinavia, the cloudberry isn´t extensively cultivated and is still predominantly a wild plant.
Species description
The cloudberry plant is much smaller than the blackberry plant (Rubus fruticosus), growing low against the ground with only the flowers or the fruits themselves protruding. The stem is only 5 to 20 cm in height. The 1 – 3 leaves are undivided and shaped like the palm of a hand and are generally 2- 5 cm across and 3 – 7 cm long. The lone flower is 2 – 3 cm in diameter. Unlike the blackberry, the fruit begins its life as a green fruit, turning into a red fruit and then finally the orange colour of the ripe fruit. The fruits are produced solely by the female plant and requires pollination from male plants.
Health benefits
As mentioned previously cloudberries have an excellent vitamin C value. It´s in fact 3 times greater than the vitamin C level of an orange. Other health beneficial compounds include B vitamins, carotenoids, phytosterols, vitamin E, zinc, potassium, magnesium and the fatty acids.
Cloudberries have been used in folk medicine for a long time, both the berries themselves and teas made of the leaves. It is thought to help with a wide range of conditions such as urinary infection, indigestion and colds as well as illness connected with the kidneys, liver and respiratory tract.
