Cool down or warm up with Scandinavian blueberry soup
It's the season for picking blueberries or bilberries in Scandinavia
Do you like to think about skiing to cool down on these hot summer days? How about cooling down with some chilled blueberry soup? At the Tartu marathon in Estonia this winter, Lumi guests will get to enjoy warm blueberry soup at service stations along the course, but blueberry season is in July so why not enjoy this Scandinavian favorite chilled in the summer?
A popular dish enjoyed year-round for breakfast or dessert across the Nordic countries – called Mustikkakeitto in Finland, Bláberjasúpa in Iceland or Blåbärssoppa in Sweden – this nutritious soup is considered a cold-cure when sipped warm in winter. Along the 90 km Vasaloppet course in Sweden, around 15,000 skiers have been drinking about 9,000 gallons of it every March for almost 50 years. It’s known to be easy on the stomach and give good energy to the skiers during their long journeys. In the early years, bilberries (a smaller variety of Scandinavian blueberries) would be picked and dried in the summer for the skiers’ soup come winter. Now the Vasaloppet’s blueberry soup is made by the Swedish packaged food company, Ekströms, and can even be found on the same grocery store aisle as milk products in Finland and other Nordic countries. While Lumi doesn’t yet have a trip to the Vasaloppet in Sweden, I’m thrilled that Lumi skiers on our new Estonia & Finland trip (waitlist-only for 2025) will get to take in the sweet nutrition of this Scandinavian specialty during the Tartu Marathon this February.
Tartu marathon skiers in Estonia
You surely won’t find blueberry soup in the dairy aisle at your local grocery store in the US, but it’s easy to make at home, especially if you find yourself with an abundance of blueberries this summer.
Ingredients:
6 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)
¾ cup sugar
1 Tbsp. grated lemon zest
2 Tbsp, plus 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 cinnamon stick
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
Pinch of salt
Whipped cream, for garnish
Instructions:
Bring blueberries and 3 cups of water to a boil in a medium pot over high heat. Turn the heat down to medium and cook the berries until they begin to burst, about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Transfer the berries with a slotted spoon to a fine-mesh sieve over a medium bowl. Press the berries with the back of a spoon to extract their juices.
Discard the berries and pour the liquid back into the pot. Add sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and cinnamon stick and bring to a boil over high heat.
Separately, in a small bowl, whisk cornstarch and 2 Tbsp water together. Add this to the boiling liquid and continue to boil, while whisking constantly until the soup thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon, about 3 - 5 minutes.
Discard the cinnamon stick, add a pinch of salt and chill (note: it will continue to thicken) or serve hot if you wish.
If blueberry soup offers some inspiration for the ski season ahead, and you’d like to ski a Worldloppet in Europe with Lumi, there is still room on trips to ski the Marcialonga & King Ludwig in Italy and Germany, Transju in France ($300 off until July 31 for the Tour de France!), Engadin in Switzerland, Birken in Norway or Fossavatn in Iceland. Instead of blueberry soup, sip Lemoncello during the Italian Marcialonga or Swiss hot chocolate in the Engadin.
Pouring lemoncello for Marcialonga skiers
Swiss hot chocolate in the Engadin
Stay cool and see you on the trail soon,
Garrott Kuzzy
garrott@lumiexperiences.com