In the northern regions of Russia, wonderful sister berries grow - cranberries and lingonberries. Due to their beneficial properties and excellent taste, they are used both in cooking and in traditional medicine. Plants belong to the heather family, therefore they are very similar, however, they also have a number of significant differences.
Pick your recipe
Cranberry berries are larger than lingonberries and are colored darker red. Cranberries taste more acidic, and lingonberry fruits have a denser, slightly mealy flesh of a sweet and sour taste with a slight bitterness. Cranberry calorie content is 26 kcal, in lingonberries this indicator is at the level of 43 kcal.
What is the difference between cranberries and lingonberries
Cranberries and lingonberries are equally rich in vitamins B1, B2, B9, C and trace elements - calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, iodine. These berries also contain niacin, pectin and acids: citric, benzoic, malic, and ursolic.
Although these berries come from the same family, however, they grow on different soils. Cranberries prefer moist places: marshy and mossy areas. Lingonberry is found in dry and humid forests - mixed and coniferous.
Berry picking also occurs at different times. Cranberry harvest in autumn and spring. In the second case, the berries will be sweeter, but less healthy. Lingonberries ripen in August-September. The root systems of lingonberries and cranberries are densely penetrated by fungal mycelium, whose filaments contribute to the reception and transfer of soil solutions with minerals to the roots of plants. Because of this, berries must be picked only far from civilization, since plants are able to accumulate radioactive substances.
What is more useful
Both berries have a truly huge range of applications in traditional medicine and have the effect of:
• antimicrobial;
• antiviral and antipyretic (for colds and flu);
• diuretic, which allows them to be successfully used for infections of the genitourinary system;
• antihypertensive;
• hepatoprotective;
• lowering blood cholesterol;
• increase the secretory function of the digestive system.
However, a doctor’s consultation before use is mandatory, as there are contraindications:
• any exacerbation of gastrointestinal diseases, especially with high acidity;
• hypotensive conditions;
• acute inflammatory conditions of the liver.
Thus, we can conclude that both berries are equally useful. However, their healing properties need to be properly maintained.