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A person out of view is holding a bowl of blueberries in one hand and pinches one blueberry between two fingers of the other hand as if to show it to someone.
Blueberries
Blueberry picking in Heråmaden nature reserve. This is in part made possible by the ‘allemansrätten’ – the right of public access – which gives everyone the right to enjoy Sweden’s outdoors, including the right to pick mushrooms, herbs and berries.
Photo credit: Moa Karlberg/imagebank.sweden.se

Blueberries: superfoods from Swedish nature

Swedish forests and meadows offer an abundance of tasty wild berries. Best of all is the blueberry, which is not only delicious but also packed with healthy antioxidants.

Last updated 19 November 2020

Swedish people love spending their free time in nature and one of their favourite summer pastimes is berry picking. What makes it all the more enjoyable is the law known as Allemansrätten (which translates as the Right of Public Access or Freedom to Roam), which stipulates that everyone has the right the wander around the countryside in Sweden with no fear of trespassing. 

Picking blueberries
In the late summer and autumn, the Swedish forests are filled with berries and mushrooms of all sorts. The Right of Public Access allows people to roam the woods in search of their favourite treats. Photo: Clive Tompsett/imagebank.sweden.se

Benefits of blueberries

Apart from being delicious and fun to pick, eating blueberries is actually incredibly good for you. Nordic blueberries are actually a different species to the blueberries found in North America. In fact, the correct English name for the Nordic blueberry is bilberry (although everyone tends to just call them blueberries). What’s more, they are more beneficial to health than North American blueberries, containing higher amounts of vitamin C and vitamin D. Moreover, Nordic bilberries are said to contain up to four times more anthocyanin. 

Apart from blueberries, don’t miss these three super berries that are also native to Sweden.

Cloudberry

The reason why a lot of people have never tried cloudberries (or hjortron as they are called in Swedish is probably that they mainly grow in artic or alpine environments. However, apart from making delicious jam, cloudberries are incredibly good for you. They are known for their detoxifying and immune-boosting abilities.

Cloudberries
Cloudberries are a delicious amber-coloured berry that grows in the wild in the north of Sweden. The berries are used to make different foods and beverages. Photo: Sara Ingman/imagebank.sweden.se

Lingonberry

It is almost impossible to visit Sweden without coming across lingonberries in some shape or form. You will see them on cakes, in jam, and, perhaps most commonly, on a plate alongside your meatballs. Turns out they are also quite good for you, offering powerful antioxidant qualities.

Lingonberries
Lingonberries and lingonberry shrubs are found from the north to the south of Sweden. The berries ripen in August and September and are used as a food in jams, jellies, fruit syrups and the like. Photo: Ted Logart/imagebank.sweden.se

Blackcurrant

The jury is out on whether a blackcurrant is a currant or a berry (the word for blackcurrant in Swedish is svarta vinbär, which translates as black wine berry, so we are calling it a berry). What is important is that, while often overlooked as a superfood, blackcurrants that grow in Scandinavian gardens actually contain 18 times more vitamin C, more than nine times more calcium, and four to five times more magnesium, vitamin A and potassium, iron and phosphorus than blueberries.

Article sponsored by

EU and Swedish Board of Agriculture