Bilberry: the little purple powerhouse you might not know about
Often overshadowed by its close relative the blueberry, the bilberry is a fascinating little fruit with a rich history and potential health benefits.
What is a bilberry
Vaccinium myrtillus, also known as blaeberries (Scotland), whortleberries (West Country), wimberries (Wales), fraochan (Ireland), and European blueberry, are native to Greenland, temperate Eurasia, and western parts of Canada and the United States.
The nectar-rich flowers attract a host of pollinating insects including scarce bilberry bumblebees (Bombus monticola), while the juicy berries are loved by birds including grouse and redwings.
Capercaillies also eat the stems, buds, and leaves, with the dense foliage providing shelter for their chicks who feast on the abundant insects there. While pine martens are such fans of the berries their scats turn blue in summer.
Where do bilberries grow?
Common across the UK, on areas of acidic soil, identify them by their small tea like leaves (turning yellow in autumn), red-pink hollow berrylike flowers in spring, and glistening summer berries – purplish black with a distinctive cogwheel impression at the base and red flesh inside (as opposed to larger blueberries, Vaccinium corymbosum).
How to pick bilberries
Hard to spot at first, once you find an abundance of bilberries you’ll notice them everywhere; try looking under the leaves for further hidden gatherings.
Traditionally gathered by Gaelic communities on the last Sunday of July or the first Sunday of August, as part of the summer harvest festival Lughnasa, low-growing bilberries are notoriously backbreaking to pick.
What do bilberries taste like?
The sweet-tart taste is worth the effort, however, albeit impossible to resist eating them on the spot. Many a Bilberry Sunday has been marked by purple-stained hands and mouths of partaking pickers.
Despite their tastiness, bilberries are also said to represent treachery thanks to a Greek myth whereby divine hero Myrtilus betrayed King Oenomaus and as punishment, by the equally duplicitous King Pelops, was turned into a bilberry bush.
How to cook with bilberries
If you do manage to get some home rather than eating them on the go, there are numerous culinary uses from jams, jellies, and compotes to bilberry galette, summer pudding, ice cream, liqueur, or even cold soup – an Icelandic tradition. Try our delicious bilberry and almond streusel cake recipe.
They’re also delicious dried as a rich, sweet uplift to savoury rice or couscous. High in anthocyanin compounds and tannins, the fruit has also been used medicinally to help reduce blood sugar, aid heart and eye heath, improve gastrointestinal issues, and reduce inflammation.
The leaves are also high in tannins and can be made into a tea.
What is the difference between a bilberry and a blueberry?
Bilberries and blueberries are closely related, but bilberries are smaller, have a redder flesh, a tangier taste, and are often higher in certain antioxidants. Blueberries are more widely available and have a sweeter flavour.
Looking for more wild food inspiration?
Check out our expert guide on seasonal seeds and berries to forage this autumn, best edible weeds, and how to identify blackthorn.