Remember Allemannsretten, Norway's "right to roam" law? Part of that law states that you are allowed to pick berries anywhere on uncultivated land, even on others' property. However, there is one interesting exception - you are not permitted to pick cloudberries in certain parts of northern Norway. Naturally, ever since finding that out I have been obsessed with finding some!
Well - guess what? About a week ago, I struck gold! A hytte I stayed at on the coast (Guvåghytta in Vesterålen) had some canoes available for guests to use. I canoed out to a tiny island and was pleasantly surprised to find that the island was COVERED with cloudberries!
What are cloudberries?
Cloudberries are raspberry-like fruits that usually grow in marshy areas within the arctic circle. They can be found in the northern reaches of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, and Canada. The berries start out orangey-red and lighten to a more golden color when they are ripe. They reach full ripeness late in the summer and are around for a particularly short window because they are killed off by the first frost (which, as you can imagine, comes early in the arctic circle). It's not uncommon for an early frost to kill off nearly all of the year's cloudberry crop.
It's pretty difficult to describe how they taste. Each cloudberry is a little explosion of tart sweetness. They are more substantial than most berries and the taste lingers in your mouth for awhile. They are often made into jams and jellies and used to top pastries.
Cloudberries are nutritious too; by volume, they contain about four times as much Vitamin C as oranges! They are an important source of Vitamin C in a region of the world that at one time had little to no access to citrus fruits.
Why do they have special restrictions?
Attempts to cultivate and commercially grow cloudberries have been largely unsuccessful due to their very particular growing conditions. They are quite rare in the wild as well. As a result - like most things that are scarce and tasty - they are quite valuable! You can find them in grocery stores in Norway for as much as $10 per pound. So if you own land that happens to have lots of cloudberries on it, it could be quite lucrative for you - hence the special restrictions on picking cloudberries. In northern Norway, they can be a means of economic viability so it makes sense that they would have some protections.
For those of you that are wondering - no, I did not break the law by picking cloudberries. In the region of Norway I was in, Nordland, you cannot pick cloudberries in fenced-in areas or if the owner of the ground expressly forbids it. Neither of those conditions occurred, so it was happy picking for me!
Well - guess what? About a week ago, I struck gold! A hytte I stayed at on the coast (Guvåghytta in Vesterålen) had some canoes available for guests to use. I canoed out to a tiny island and was pleasantly surprised to find that the island was COVERED with cloudberries!
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| some (not very ripe) cloudberries! |
Cloudberries are raspberry-like fruits that usually grow in marshy areas within the arctic circle. They can be found in the northern reaches of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, and Canada. The berries start out orangey-red and lighten to a more golden color when they are ripe. They reach full ripeness late in the summer and are around for a particularly short window because they are killed off by the first frost (which, as you can imagine, comes early in the arctic circle). It's not uncommon for an early frost to kill off nearly all of the year's cloudberry crop.
It's pretty difficult to describe how they taste. Each cloudberry is a little explosion of tart sweetness. They are more substantial than most berries and the taste lingers in your mouth for awhile. They are often made into jams and jellies and used to top pastries.
Cloudberries are nutritious too; by volume, they contain about four times as much Vitamin C as oranges! They are an important source of Vitamin C in a region of the world that at one time had little to no access to citrus fruits.
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| my cloudberry haul |
Attempts to cultivate and commercially grow cloudberries have been largely unsuccessful due to their very particular growing conditions. They are quite rare in the wild as well. As a result - like most things that are scarce and tasty - they are quite valuable! You can find them in grocery stores in Norway for as much as $10 per pound. So if you own land that happens to have lots of cloudberries on it, it could be quite lucrative for you - hence the special restrictions on picking cloudberries. In northern Norway, they can be a means of economic viability so it makes sense that they would have some protections.
 |
| a cloudberry patch |
For those of you that are wondering - no, I did not break the law by picking cloudberries. In the region of Norway I was in, Nordland, you cannot pick cloudberries in fenced-in areas or if the owner of the ground expressly forbids it. Neither of those conditions occurred, so it was happy picking for me!
cloudberry oatmeal anyone?
LEARN NORWEGIAN
molte = cloudberry
(mult - eh)
*Not a literal translation. In Norwegian, bær = berries
For example:
jordbær = strawberry
(yord - baar)
blåbær = blueberry
(blow - baar)
bringebær = raspberry
(bring - eh - baar)
molte = cloudberry
(mult - eh)
*Not a literal translation. In Norwegian, bær = berries
For example:
jordbær = strawberry
(yord - baar)
blåbær = blueberry
(blow - baar)
bringebær = raspberry
(bring - eh - baar)
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