Bilberry (known in America as huckleberry) is a shrub that thrives in the cold climate of Europe’s higher latitudes, even in acidic, nutrient-poor soil. A close relative of blueberry shrubs, it is also consumed much the same way, either fresh, frozen, or in jams and jellies. This berry is so highly esteemed that in countries such as Finland there exists a specific legal right granting strangers the freedom to go on to other people’s property to pick bilberries, as long as they do not poach from gardens.
Bilberry contains antioxidant pigments called anthocyanins that give it its distinctive dark blue color. Anthocyanins seem to help the human eye produce more of a substance called rhopsin, which enables vision to adjust to less light. During World War Two, bomber pilots stationed in the British Isles noticed that when they ate bilberry jam their night-time bombing accuracy increased, and as a result the British government hastily procured most of the bilberry jam in England for them.
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