Gathering wild berries in Norway is a traditional fall family activity. Nothing is like fresh berries – most of them naturally sweet and requires little effort to prepare; just rinse them under water and serve for a nutritious snack or dessert. In the Norwegian woods and mountains you’ll find wild cranberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries and even cloudberries. My favourites are blueberries and lingonberries, probably because they are easy to find where I grew up (South East of Norway) and our family trips out in the nature to pick and this brings up the greatest memory. From a very young age, my parents would take my sister and I out for a hiking trip in the fall on Sunday afternoons and we used to crawl around the forest floor and eat the berries right from the bush. I still get that feeling when out in the woods:
Left: RennyBA picking lingonberries – Right: DianeCA picking blueberries.
Berries are of course full of vitamins, calcium, magnesium, foliate, potassium and even photochemical as well as flavonoids that may help to prevent some forms of cancer and prevent bladder infections. The pigments that give berries their beautiful blue and red hues are also good for your health and gathering them out in the nature is definitely good for your soul. My gratitude goes to my parents who taught me how to enjoy being outdoors and appreciate these recreational moments. Other than enjoying the fauna, getting close to the animals is a way of “charging your batteries” as well I think:
Another good childhood memory is how we prepared the berries when we came home after our hikes on Sunday afternoons in the fall. It might have been a bit chilly, outside for the whole day, and my mom always served a special for dessert with the days harvest. My favourite was and still is Troll Cream:
It’s made from lingonberries, sugar and whipped egg whites and my Mom’s always added a dash of vanilla to the recipe. For those who are not familiar with Norwegian Trolls, member the race of fearsome creatures from Norse mythology: Read my post “Norwegian Troll as Oddly Ghost”
Before I end my post on why I love being out in the nature, enjoying the fauna, the animals and gathering fresh berries, let me give you another idea of how to serve them in the Norwegian way:
Waffles with goat cheese, raspberry jam and fresh blueberries on cream fresh.
Nothing tastes as delicious as freshly picked berries eaten the same day as you have been out in the woods and gathered them. They are full of sweetness and a vitamin bomb for the body too. Do you remember doing something similar when you were a child, or even today? What are your good fall memories? Share them with us and get the discussion going! It’s amazing how much we all have in common.
It looks delicious, Renny! Here we are picking apples and pears. Although someone came and stole all our Red Bartlett pears! I am shocked and very sad! We only have one, which had fallen on the ground.
the troll cream looks yummy. I want some please :D
Thats the beauty when you live outside the city.
RennyBA
Just come and visit and I’ll make you Troll Cream :D
In Norway, even from the biggest cities, you reach the forest within 30 minute!
The berry season here is gone and I never even had the chance to pick some when I was on the countryside. Hopefully, I can find some berries when I am in Fredrikstad next week!
That looks good and healthy!
+ the great outdoors…
I guess we should not live in big polluted cities… while life can be simple and healthy in the countryside…
A city rat is speaking :-)
Wow, I want some of the Troll Cream, it looks so good! When I lived on the ranch we always went out picking fresh fruit and berries, it was always so much fun. My children loved it because I would make pies with the berries and fruit. When I made the jam I used very little sugar because they were already so sweet when they were fresh. Everyone just loved it. Thanks for the great memories.
Love and Blessings,
AngelBaby
No doubt – this is genuine life in Norway.
Nature and Nature. Our Culture and also a verification how we have survived here for more than 10.000 years.
Then it’s a paradox that so many Norwegians went to warmer climates during their Vacations – or? We who live here, know why. For a short periode. But, we are adicted to the 4 Seasons. Which in Fact are 4 Seasons.
And the food, really adapted to the seasons. We are so lucky —
You know we love the simple life in nature, becoming a part of our nature and Viking History, and on the other and, we must admit, some days in a wamer climate is also acceptable..
Excellent post about Norway and Norwegians habits and daily life
We used to go blackberrying when I was a child, and I used to take my sons too. It’s a great tradition.
Your dishes look absolutely delicious, especially the waffles. I love goats cheese but I haven’t seen one quite like that – the thin slices at the top? Here in the centre of France, most of our goats cheese is shaped into pyramids, or just small round ones.
RennyBA
The sliced goat cheese is made from our Cheese Slicer, invented in Norway :-)
I haven’t gone berry picking in years and years!
Most of our wild berries ripen in the Spring and Summer, Renny. I love lingonberries and wish they grew here. I’d like to make some jam with them.
Fall is here and we’re having chilly nights and comfortable days. Lovely!
Happy Friday, Renny. Enjoy your weekend. :-)
Love and hugs,
Diane
I wonder if Canada has berries now… never thought of it and never heard of people picking them. I guess I’m too urban :lol:
how lovely that you can just pick berries from the woods and make wonderful stuff with them!
thanks for the food porn! the waffles are mouth-watering!!!
What a lovely waffles there Renny, looks too good to be eaten
the onl;y berries that i have tasted are strawberries :(
Oh I want some of those berries!
Oh My, that Waffle with all those goodies looks mouth-wareingly delicious! I understand the Joy of picking Fresh Berries, my dear….As a child we had this Farm in Pennsylvania and the whole Hill was covered in Huckleberries,,,,In fact, the Farm was called Huckleberry Hill Farm. We spent our summers there and picked Berries ALL the time…and in fact picked so many that we sold them to a very Posh Hotel in that area and then we gave the money to Charity—it was part of what we would do almost every day! Nothing like it, is there Renny!
I’m not a brown cheese fan – although two of my children are, so we always have some in the fridge – but the rest on the waffle plate looks delicious. It’s bit wet for berry-picking today but if it clears up, we might try it. You have inspired me :)
That looked delicious – and delightfully Norwegian. You only lacked the juice from home-grown red and black currants (but I could have provided that!)
That looks absolutely yummie – you have inspired me to go for a walk in the woods again!
The breakfast looks wonderful. I remember as a child taking long walks in the woods in the fall. No matter how cold, rainy or otherwise, my parents would always take me outdoors and I loved it.
Terry,
as you might have guessed berry picking is very popular pastime in Finland, too. Yet, there is so much free food left to rotten in the woods. During past few years Finnish berry wholesalers brought people from Thailand to pick the berries.
Congratulations on your blogging award,
~Harri
Renny, you make all food look so delicious! I don’t know these berries or if we have similar ones here.
We are gearing up for Thanksgiving here next weekend and the leaves are gradually turning colour. We got a hailstorm while thundering today!!
Miam! I would want to taste all those fresh and wild berries!
It remember me the time I went with Pierre in Alpen and we picked the strawberries and blueburries in the forests at mountain and after back home Pierre’s mother prepared the jelly the same way her mother and grandmother had learn to her.
i love that last photo! you seems to have fun plus the eating part!
my husband was also picking blueberry this afternoon as we went walking and I was picking blackberry..that was fun! those horses are so cute
It must be nice to be able to pick wild berries. Fresh raspberries and blueberries are so expensive here. It’s a treat to have them from time to time.
The Troll Cream looks interesting. I’ve never tried it before.
I forgot to add, the waffles look delicious. I’m craving for some right now.
Great post. It’s the same in both Norway, Sweden and Finland I think. I remember picking berries in Finland with my Mom when we visited her relatives there.
Or rather: they picked berries in their big baskets – I had a small cup – to put the few ones I didn’t eat at once! *giggles*
My Mom did a pink porridge with the lingonberries I remember, whipped them into the porridge. I think that is a typical Finnish thing, since she was from there. she called it “klappgröt” and it was to be served at xmas.
cranberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries are very hard to find now.
wow its nice to have that fruits, how much is the cost of that fruit?
what is the process to have that? thanks for the information about that fruit.
you can give me a more article about this fruit?
I want a fruit for my house, can you give me more information for that?
Thanks for sharing this information all this are of extreme use.
Another good childhood memory is how we prepared the berries when we came home after our hikes on Sunday afternoons in the fall.