Born to be wild: bilberry
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
The untamed bilberry is packed with flavour, folklore and a hint of treachery
The idea that bilberry jam helped sweep the Luftwaffe from the skies over England in 1940 might sound as credible as Jack and the beanstalk, yet it certainly was alleged — officially — that RAF pilots enhanced their vision with a diet rich in carrots and bilberries; both renowned for improving eyesight. On the other hand, bilberry remains unearthed at the Roman Fort in Bearsden near Glasgow, suggest they may have played a role in the diets of those fighting in a different battle of Britain.
In the middle ages, bilberries were enlisted in an equally existential struggle against the evil spirits believed to inhabit rural and remote areas of Europe. Deployed as a domestic talisman, they hung on the doorway were reputed to deter demons, shape-shifters and wood-spirits. The doorway was perceived as both a physical and symbolic point of entry by Celtic and Nordic tribes, in which the culture of spiritual protection was passed down through word of mouth.
There was a quality of otherness about the bilberry that separated it from the hedgerow herd. Born in the wild, Vaccinium myrtillus was destined to remained there, defying the domestication to which blueberries submitted. "Myrtillus" references a legendary Greek charioteer employed by King Oenomaus, whom he chose to betray. Pelops, the king's rival, bribed Myrtillus to fix a chariot-race to win him the king's daughter as a prize. Oenomaus was killed in the race, but the treacherous Pelops welched on the deal, killing Myrtillus and hurling him into the sea, which brought an eternal curse upon the House of Pelops. That's horse racing for you.
Myrtillus' father was the God Hermes, who transformed his son's body into a bilberry bush. This myth connects the shrub to treachery, which is reflected in the Victorian language of flowers.
Bilberries appear across much of the western world under more than a dozen aliases including blaeberries, whortleberries, whinberries and huckleberries. These small, potent fruits have long been harvested by hill-people of mid-Wales, who, steeped in Celtic traditions and folklore, know them as wimbleberries. Crushed to expel their potent, purple juice, the bilberry supplied a sought-after additive for folk-medicines and healing potions, not to mention an immensely popular dye for wool products. A deep purple robe became the signature garment of the wise woman, with its echoes of pagan royalty and dark forest interiors.
Across the water in Ireland, "fraocháin" found their own role in the folk tapestry of the countryside. Initially an Irish Christian memorial, Reek Sunday — the last Sunday in July — became Bilberry Sunday too, as the Emerald Isle strained to satisfy the observance of competing ritual practices. For centuries to come, young colleens of County Mayo would make an annual slog up Craigh Patrick hill to collect the indigo power balls for their own purposes. Not for the faint-hearted, this was a traditionally risky business, as malevolent giants and mischievous fairies were reputed to lurk in the higher regions hoping to steal children.
The timing of Bilberry Sunday was significant, immediately preceding or following the older feast of Lugnasadh on August 1st, which references the legendary King Lugh, himself the ruler of a supernatural race called the Tuatha Dé Danann. The quality and quantity of fruits and berries gathered at this time were deemed to anticipate the level of abundance the land would supply to its grateful inhabitants during the remainder of the harvest season.
The story of the bilberry inhabits that seductive grey area between homespun wisdom and spiritual endeavour. Always a revered source of barely understood power, the bilberry has in recent years been elevated into the pantheon of superfoods, with health benefits claimed on many fronts, from cholesterol to blood-sugar levels. Fans enthuse about the anti-inflammatory properties and improved skin-elasticity from anti-oxidants boosting collagen production. Feel good, look good, ward off evil, what's not to like? In the ever-expanding community where science and health meet to promote their favourites, the bilberry is once again winning hearts and minds.
As for the Battle of Britain, recent research finds scant evidence to support the bilberry-infused pilot super-vision yarn. It appears that Air Ministry and propaganda outlets simply pushed that narrative as deliberate misinformation to conceal secret advances in radar technology that were steering RAF planes with improved accuracy.
Always stay safe when foraging. You need to be 100% sure of your identification, 100% sure that your foraged item is edible, and 100% sure that you are not allergic to it (it is good practice to always try a small amount of any new food you are consuming). If in doubt, leave it out!
