Arctic Gold: a discovery of the elusive cloudberry

Originally published on Medium.

The first time I saw the word ‘cloudberry’ was on the outside of a Skyr Icelandic yogurt container. Even then, it seemed fake, like an ingredient one might find on a fantasy world menu, or in a novel. What sold me on it was that it was mixed with peach, which I could very much get behind. And I left the mystery at that.

But for reasons I can’t exactly explain, the mystery persisted. What exactly is cloudberry, and why haven’t I heard about it except on a container of Scandinavian yogurt?

Rest assured, the cloudberry is real, though it’s rare enough you could be forgiven for not knowing about it. Cloudberries are so rare in fact, they’ve proven impossible to commercialize. That’s something of a good thing. Commercialization can easily lead to under-appreciation, but all the same, the cloudberry is one fruit that several people miss out on. And like many exotic fruits, this one has an interesting story to tell.

Frozen peatland in Arctic Circle

The cloudberry is native to one of the harshest regions on the planet: the Arctic circle. It was first discovered growing in the peat-rich moors and bogs, being one of the few foods able to prosper in such an environment, naturally devoid of quality nutrients. Today, the cloudberry grows in the Arctic and subarctic regions of northern Scandinavia and Russia. (They’ve also been known to grow in northern Britain and Ireland, though these don’t produce fruit).

Part of the rosaceae family of flowering plants (which also includes other fruits such as apples, pears, and blackberries), it is a creeping herbaceous plant that buds white flowers. Cloudberries are also dioecious, a term that means each plant is either male or female. It is the female plants that produce fruit, though it takes an awful long time for this to happen. One plant can take up to seven years before it’s able to produce any fruit.

Once it produces, the fruit is bright, amber-colored, and reminiscent of a raspberry (though it is in fact not a berry, but a fruit). Their harvest season being in July and August only, their growing locations are scarce and therefore hidden. The demand for cloudberries has always outweighed the supply, causing Scandinavian countries to implement strict rules on where it can be grown and how much can be collected. Only a select few know where to pick cloudberries and they make efforts to keep these areas hidden from other pickers.

It is for these reasons, its rarity, its beauty, and its delightful flavor, that Scandinavians call the cloudberry ‘Arctic Gold’. Indeed, the fruit has long been lauded wherever it grows.

The Vikings were some of the first peoples to understand the cloudberry’s delicious and medicinal properties. Cloudberry liqueur is one of the oldest forms of fruit-inspired liqueurs. Since cloudberries are exceptionally high in Vitamin C, they were also a good remedy against scurvy, a common ailment among those traveling at sea.

In Finland especially, the cloudberry has achieved celebrity status. The fruit is featured on their 2 Euro coin. The town of Ranua is considered the official ‘cloudberry town’. And Finns have created a famous cloudberry liqueur called ‘Lapponia Lakka’.

cloudberry jam

For those of us that live outside of Scandinavia however, cloudberry products can prove hard to find. The most common means of finding it in supermarkets is in jam form, and even that can prove elusive to find. IKEA, the famous Swedish furniture store, sometimes carries Hafi, or cloudberry preserve. Specialty grocers may also manage to get their hands on some.

But despite our globalized world, the cloudberry remains a niche fruit, gracing only the most far away of places. Even in the twenty-first century, the cloudberry is a fruit best consumed where it’s grown: in northern Scandinavia, the Arctic, or Russia.

For those lucky enough to try a fresh cloudberry, you’re sure to be blessed with a pleasantly tart and tangy flavor. It is said to have a complex sweet and sour flavor, and when cooked down, can taste almost savory.

The cloudberry is also popular at the Scandinavian Christmas dinner table. Norwegian Cloudberry Cream is a common dessert. You can also taste it in tarts or cakes. And despite its scarcity, cloudberry yogurt does in fact exist; if the Skyr version with peach and cloudberry is any indication, it’s a marvelous invention.

If at any point you happen to stumble upon some cloudberries, whether in fresh or jam form, know that you’re glimpsing a rare and honored fruit, one that few have the opportunity to enjoy. Savor every morsel, and count yourself lucky that you had the opportunity to enjoy Arctic Gold.