Lingonberry jam

Lingonberry jam is a staple of Northern European food. It is popular in Central and Eastern Europe. Lingonberries (Vaccinium vitis-idaea) grow on a short evergreen shrub in the Arctic tundra in the Northern Hemisphere.

History
In Sweden, lingonberries are sold as jam and juice. Lingonberry jam is served with meat courses, such as meatballs, beef stew or liver dishes (like maksalaatikko). It is also served with fried herring. Traditional dishes such as kroppkakor, pitepalt, potato pancakes, spinach pancakes, kåldolmar, fläskpannkaka, mustamakkara and black pudding often have lingonberries. The jam is also served with oatmeal porridge (sometimes together with cinnamon), mashed potatoes and some desserts.

Composition
The best lingonberry jam is prepared with berries, sugar and sometimes a small amount of water. Cheaper varieties can be diluted with apples. Sweetened lingonberries (rårörda lingon) or (rørte tyttebær) are made fresh by just mixing berries and sugar, without boiling. Because of the benzoic acid, which is found in high amounts in lingonberries, the berries keep well without any preservatives.

Notes

References

Other websites
Lingonberry Jam (Nordicdiner)

Category:Swedish food
Category:Norwegian food
Category:Danish food
Category:Finnish food
Category:Estonian food
Category:Latvian food
Category:Lithuanian food