Finland’s wild love for blueberries

DW (English)

In summer, Finns pick up to 20 million kilos of wild blueberries. What is it about these dusty blue berries they love so much?

Transcript

00:00Finland is in love with blueberries.

00:03The Finns call them mustika.

00:05And for them, they're somewhat of a staple.

00:09But can anyone just go into the forest and pick them freely?

00:13And why are they considered a superfood?

00:18It's the symbol of the forest-loving nation.

00:22Healthy food that we can have straight from our forests.

00:26Picking blueberries means that I am just appreciative of what Mother Nature is giving us.

00:33Finnish blogger Varpu Rusila is all about nature.

00:37In her free time, she and her family go berry picking in the forest.

00:41Thanks to Finland's right of common access, anyone is allowed to wander freely through the forests and pick berries here.

00:49The best blueberry spots, they are passed down from a generation to another.

00:55And when you get married, you are introduced to your spouse's best spots.

01:00This is Finland's Lakeland region, an hour and a half from Helsinki.

01:05We visit Latti, where Varpu lives and works.

01:09She blogs about the Finnish way of life.

01:13And that includes the gathering of wild blueberries with her daughter.

01:18That's very normal.

01:23And that is also like the badge of honor.

01:26We are not that fussy about having blue fingers in Finland, because it means that you have been out in the wilderness.

01:33Hardly a day goes by where Varpu doesn't prepare something with blueberries.

01:39The recipe that we're doing today is my family recipe.

01:46And this is our go-to recipe.

01:48When we are making a blueberry pie, we can do it in a heartbeat.

01:53So it's really, really like a five-minute recipe.

01:56So let's get started.

01:58First, Varpu mixes flour, baking powder, oats and a little salt.

02:07In a second bowl, she mixes butter and sugar.

02:12Then one egg.

02:15In goes the flour mix.

02:18And finally, some typical Finnish sour cream.

02:23The cream is folded in lightly, before spreading the dough in a greased pan.

02:30In Finland, we love to use the wild blueberries.

02:34We believe that this is the real stuff, so to speak.

02:38They are high in vitamin C, fiber and also antioxidants.

02:43These real, real blueberries.

02:46And I will just put them all around this plate.

02:50Add a little bit of sugar.

02:54And into the oven it goes.

02:5625 minutes at 225 degrees Celsius.

03:00The capital Helsinki is also known for its love of wild berries.

03:04In fact, Finns consume eight kilos per capita a year.

03:08The equivalent of a large cleaning bucket.

03:11So you'd be hard-pressed to find a market or cafe that doesn't feature the foresty fruits.

03:15They come in every imaginable form.

03:17Blueberry ice cream.

03:19Blueberry licorice.

03:21Blueberry muesli as a side dish to reindeer ham.

03:25And in countless baked goods.

03:27For Finnish breakfast, they're often served on yogurt.

03:31Or in blueberry porridge.

03:33Can you believe that I eat this every morning and I'm not bored at all?

03:39And this is how we typically do them.

03:41So we put this tiny butter.

03:45Butter.

03:46We say in Finnish it's like ai.

03:50Butter ai for the porridge.

03:54Then this is organic kami.

03:57And then we add blueberries.

04:02This is the number one breakfast dish in Finland for sure.

04:05I think every Finnish person has fond memories of blueberry porridge.

04:10And for lunch, a blueberry salad with Finnish cheese.

04:14The cheese is cubed and the salad tossed in a vinaigrette.

04:18The perfect light lunch.

04:20But now it's time for the blueberry pie fresh out of the oven.

04:24Finns prefer to eat it warm.

04:26And at Varpu's house, vanilla sauce is a must.

04:37This is how we make it.

04:41Super great and just so good.

04:44So good.

04:45The twists and variations are endless.

04:47But for Varpu and her family, there's only one true blueberry pie.

04:52Here we are.

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