TempoLife › Wild food and foraging guide › lingonberry
Lingonberry
Vaccinium vitis-idaea — Edible, tart; keeps very well.
Never eat a wild mushroom or plant identified only from a website, book or app. Several deadly species look almost identical to edible ones, and mistakes can be fatal. Learn from an experienced forager in person, be certain of every specimen, and when in doubt, throw it out.
What it is
A small, firm, sharp red berry on a low evergreen shrub, turned into the jam that accompanies meatballs, liver and game across the north. Its high benzoic acid content is a natural preservative, so a bowl of raw berries keeps for weeks.
Where and when to find it
Pine forest and heath, often beside bilberry. In season roughly August to October.
Look-alikes and safety
The evergreen, low shrub with glossy leaves is distinctive. Do not confuse the scene with the red berries of lily-of-the-valley or cuckoo-pint, which grow on quite different plants and are toxic — know the plant, not just the berry colour.
Nutrition
About 50 kcal per 100 g; naturally acidic so it stores raw for months. As with all wild food, the health value only matters once you are completely certain of a safe identification.
More wild foods
Blueberry (bilberry)
Excellent edible
Cranberry
Edible, very tart
Wild strawberry
Excellent edible
Wild raspberry
Excellent edible
Cloudberry
Prized edible
Rowanberry
Edible only cooked; do not eat raw in quantity
Source: Edibility and look-alike notes follow standard mycological and botanical references for the region. This page is a starting reference, not an identification authority. · checked 2026-09-04
Frequently asked questions
When is lingonberry in season?
August to October.
What can lingonberry be confused with?
The evergreen, low shrub with glossy leaves is distinctive. Do not confuse the scene with the red berries of lily-of-the-valley or cuckoo-pint, which grow on quite different plants and are toxic — know the plant, not just the berry colour.
Is lingonberry edible?
Edible, tart; keeps very well — but only ever after positive, in-person identification.
Make the most of the season
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