Berries instead of bears: new insight into gastronomic attractiveness of Russian Siberia

Journal of Ethnic Foods

Table 1 Typical berries of Southern Siberia used in the regional cuisine

Berry*		Distribution (by regions)				Harvest**
English (Russian***) name	Latin name	Altai	Kemerovo	Khakassia	Season	Productivity, kg/10,000 m²
Cultivated berries (farms, including you-pick farms)
Lingonberry (Brusnika)	Vaccinium vitis-idaea	+	+	+	August	100–140
Blueberry (Chernika)	Vaccinium myrtillus	+	+	+	August	80–120
Currant (Smorodina)	Ribes	+	+	+	August	100–130
Bilberry (Golubika)	Vaccinium uliginosum	+	+	+	August	100–120
Strawberry (Klubnika)	Fragaria	+	+	+	June–August	50–70
Raspberry (Malina)	Rubus idaeus	+	+	+	August	100–110
Cranberry (Kljukva)	Vaccinium oxycoccos	+	+	+	August	100–110
Rose hip (Shipovnik)	Rosa	+	+	+	August–September	5–12
Ashberry (Rjabina)	Sorbus	+	+	+	September	50–60
Viburnum (Kalina)	Viburnum	+	+	+	August	40–60
Hawthorn (Bojaryshnik)	Crataegus	+	+	+	August	5–15
Cherry (Vishnja)	Prunus subg. Cerasus	+			August	100
Blackberry (Ezhevika)	Rubus subgen. Rubus	+			August	70
Gooseberry (Kryzhovnik)	Ribes uva-crispa	+			August–September	30
Wild cherry (Chereshnja)	Prunus avium	+			August	70
Wild berries (forests)
(Ozhika volosistaja)	Luzula pilosa			+	August–September	10
(Ortilija)	Orthilia secunda			+	August–September	10
(Badan)	Bergenia			+	August–September	10
(Geran' sibirskaja)	Geranium sibiricum			+	August–September	10

Many of them are representatives of the genus Vaccinium, which is very abundant not only at farms, but also in wild state in the forests of the region. Significant diversity of berries is observed in the Altai, whereas some specific berries, the culinary use of which is only local, are found in Khakassia. Importantly, the harvest of the majority of berries is restricted on the only late summer, which makes their availability in fresh state only seasonal
^*The present nomenclature of berries follows the Russian standard
^**Based chiefly on the information from [13]
^***Transliterated Russian names are provided to avoid any confusion with berry nomenclature

ISSN: 2352-619X