Blaeberries growing wild in the native Scottish Pinewoods of Strathspey. Scotland. SCO 9212.
Bilberries are extremely difficult to grow and are thus seldom cultivated. Fruits are mostly collected from wild plants growing on publicly accessible lands throughout northern and central Europe, where they are plentiful - for example, up to a fifth (17-21%) of the land area of Sweden is covered in Bilberry-bushes. Note that in Austria, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Switzerland, it is an everyman's right to collect bilberries, irrespective of land ownership, with the exception of private gardens and nature reserves. Bilberries can be picked by a berry-picking rake like lingonberries, but are more susceptible to damage. Bilberries are softer and juicier than blueberries, making them difficult to transport. Because of these factors, the bilberry is only available fresh on markets and in gourmet stores, where in the latter they can cost up to 11 Euros per kilogram. Frozen bilberries however are available all year round in most of Europe. The fruits can be eaten fresh or made into jams, fools, juices or pies. In France and Italy they are used as a base for liqueurs and are a popular flavoring for sorbets and other desserts. In Brittany, they are often used as a flavoring for crêpes, and in the Vosges and the Massif Central bilberry tart (tarte aux myrtilles) is a traditional dessert. In Romania they are used as a base for a liquer called afinată - the name of the fruit in Romanian is afină. There is a North Korean Bog Bilberry Brandy (Paektusan Tuljjuksul) reportedly available at the DMZ. Often associated with improvement of night vision, bilberries are mentioned in a popular story of World War II RAF pilots consuming bilberry jam to sharpen vision for night missions. A study in 2000 by the Navy found no such effect and origins of the RAF story cannot be found.
Size: 5758px × 4248px
Location: Strathspey Native Pinewoods, Inverness-shire Scotland.
Photo credit: © David Gowans / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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