I had some blueberries and strawberries on the fridge so I decided to make a berry soup for dinner. Eating the soup made me think about Finland and all the delicious berries over there. If Ecuador has better fruits than Finland, Finland definitively wins the berry competition!
Blueberry bushes at Nuuksio National Park, Finland.
When I was living in Finland I ate blueberries for breakfast almost every morning. I really love blueberries. Unfortunately blueberries are sold here in Ecuador only near to the day of the deceased, for preparing the colada morada. The Ecuadorian blueberries are grown at the highlands and I suspect they are cultivated, but I’m not sure. They have more seeds and are dryer than their Finnish cousins. They are quite OK, but wouldn’t really want to eat them just like that without any preparation. Meanwhile the Finnish blueberries taste the best straight from the bushes. Well, most of the times I ate the blueberries from the freezer as the blueberry season is short.
And what about the strawberries. Here they cultivate and sell the same kind of strawberry that are imported to Finland from Spain outside of the strawberry season. This strawberry definitely has the looks but the taste is a bit bland. The Finnish strawberry is a bit smaller and not really interesting looking, but the taste is so sweet and summery. We had a strawberry field (small and not commercial) when I was a child, so I did eat my fair share of strawberries back then. My childhood summers were much about going to the field barefooted and picking up strawberries straight into the mouth.
In the name of democracy I have to tell you that in Ecuador the fruit scale is great! Fresh papaya, mango and some fruits I never even heard of. I love the selection of fresh fruit over here. In Finland the fruits… Well mostly imported.
I’m going to end this post into Finnish proverb:
“Oma maa mansikka, muu maa mustikka.”
“Own land strawberry, other land blueberry”
