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Blåbärssoppa (warm bilberry drink)
Blåbärssoppa: wild bilberries simmered with sugar and lightly thickened into a warm, velvety purple drink for cold days outdoors
Every first Sunday of March, the 90-kilometre Vasaloppet ski race from Sälen to Mora is fuelled by blåbärssoppa: volunteers at the feeding stations hand thousands of skiers paper cups of the warm purple drink, and Swedes drink it from thermoses on winter hikes, after skating and on the ski slopes. It is made from wild bilberries, the small dark forest berries with purple flesh, cooked with sugar and thickened with potato starch so it is just thick enough to coat the cup. It is sweet, softly tart and tastes intensely of berries, with a silky, almost glossy body. The common mistake is stirring the starch straight into the hot pot: it forms jelly lumps at once. Always mix potato starch with cold water first, take the pot off the boil, then stir it in and bring back just to a bubble; long boiling thins it again. It is ready when it turns glossy and coats a spoon in a thin film. Bilberries are sold frozen in Nordic shops; cultivated blueberries work too, with a squeeze of lemon for sharpness. Chef's tip: it is just as good cold the next day, or served as a soup with whipped cream and almond biscuits.
- Total time
- 20 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 10 ½ oz bilberries (wild blueberries)fresh or frozen; or blueberries plus the lemon juice
- 4 ¼ cups water
- 2 ⅞ oz sugaror to taste
- 2 tbsp potato starch
- 3 tbsp cold waterfor mixing the starch
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (optional)needed only with cultivated blueberries
- 1 cinnamon stick (optional)
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Put 10 ½ oz bilberries (wild blueberries), 4 ¼ cups water, 2 ⅞ oz sugar and 1 cinnamon stick in a pot and bring to the boil over medium-high heat.
5 minStep 2: Simmer for 5 minutes until the berries burst and the liquid is deep purple. For a smooth drink, blend with a stick blender or press through a sieve; for the rustic version leave the berries whole.
6 minStep 3: Stir the 2 tbsp potato starch into the 3 tbsp cold water until smooth. Take the pot off the heat, remove the cinnamon, and pour in the starch mixture in a thin stream, stirring constantly.
1 minStep 4: Return to medium heat and bring back just to the first bubble, stirring, until glossy and slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Do not keep boiling.
2 minStep 5: Stir in 1 tbsp lemon juice if using blueberries, taste for sugar and serve warm in mugs, or pour into a preheated thermos for outdoors.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 120 kcal
- Protein
- 1 g
- Carbs
- 29 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does blåbärssoppa (warm bilberry drink) take?
- About 20 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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