Bonnefied ingredients
Bilberry

Wild bilberries can be found in the northern coniferous forest zone, or boreal zone, of both Europe and Asia. They also grow in North America, although bilberry isn’t a native species there. In Finland and other Nordic countries, bilberries are part of our nature and everyday diet. At Bonne, bilberries are used as an ingredient in many of our popular products, and they are an established part of Bonne's identity.

Vaccinium Myrtillus, more commonly known as bilberry, belongs to the Ericaceae family and Vaccinium genus. More specifically, Vaccinium Myrtillus refers to wild bilberries that grow in the forest. Blueberries, on the other hand, are cultivated and grow in bushes all over the world. Most blueberry products contain these highbush blueberries, and they are a native of North America and close relatives of bilberry. Highbush blueberries grow in the wild in North America but are also commonly cultivated in Europe and other continents. Blueberries are large in size and the bushes can grow up to two metres high.

Bilberries contain high levels of anthocyanin compounds, and the levels can be three to five times higher in wild bilberries compared to cultivated blueberries.

Bilberries are very healthy. They are rich in fibre, contain vitamin C and are a natural source of vitamin E. Bilberries also contain flavonols, tannins and lignans.

Bilberries grow all throughout Finland. They grow in young pine barrens, coniferous swamps and grove-like forest heaths. They tolerate shady places well and thrive in moist soil, although in northern Finland they can also be found in barren fell heaths. Weather conditions, such as frost and cold temperatures in early summer, determine the abundance of bilberries each year. The amounts are also influenced by pollination and its success. Insects play a major role here, although bilberries can also self-pollinate. The size of the berry crop, however, depends largely on the number of insect pollinators.

A bilberry shrub can live for up to 30 years.

Bilberries flower in summer, between May and July, and the flowers are pink and bell-shaped. The perennial shrubs grow upright and are about 10–30 cm tall. Bilberry leaves are oval with pointes tips and serrated edges that shed in winter. The berries are waxy and have a distinctive dark blue colour, both inside and out. The berries might also occasionally be black and shiny, although these are less common.

The bilberry picking season starts towards the end of July and lasts until September. Once the picking season begins, the harvest is at its most abundant for a couple of weeks after the berries have darkened. Bilberries are very versatile and can be used in berry soups, baked goods, smoothies, juices and much more. There are a huge number of recipes. Bilberries can also be easily preserved by freezing, drying or turning them into juice or jam, for example. The food industry uses bilberries in producing juices, jams, juice concentrates, dried berries and berry powders as well as cereal and dairy products.

Bonne uses both domestic and foreign berries in its products, and they include both wild bilberries and cultivated blueberries. Our products, made from this nutritious and tasty berry, are always made out of love for nature and its wonderful raw materials. Bonne's bilberry juice is one of our most well-known products. It combines spring water from the Lähteenlohko spring in Lohjanharju and this nutritious berry from our boreal coniferous forest zone.

Would you like your bilberries juiced or puréed? Bonnefied, please!"