Berries have especially been eaten fresh, as such. Earlier, a dish called meastu was made from them; they were then eaten together with fish (guollemeastu) or meat (biergomeastu). When preparing such a dish from fish, boiled and cleaned fish was mixed with mashed berries, and stock or milk. We know that, in Inari, even roe was eaten with berries, that is, blueberries; then, the amount of blueberries added was a third. Berries could also be added to fish or meat stock or pine bark gruel, or eaten with milk or sour whole milk. Berries were preserved for the winter by freezing or by sinking them in a spring that stayed free of ice all year.
Berries contain great amounts of useful substances, such as vitamins C, A, E and B, good acids, flavonoids and minerals. According to the newest studies, the wild plants growing in the north contain more of these healthy substances that the southern plants. This is a result of the growth conditions, the amount of light and the small amount of minerals in the soil in the north.
