Many of you have been asking, what is a cloudberry? Is this stuff even real? Is the flavor name for your new Sleep Cloudberry gummies just a clever play on words? Believe it or not, Cloudberries are really real. While cloudberries sound like the stuff of dreams, our newest Sleep Gummy flavor comes from a real fruit.
Mind blown? We were too upon learning about this rare yet delicious fruit.
You have my attention, now tell me more! Where do they come from? Why haven’t we heard about this fruit before and why haven’t I found them at my local grocery store?
Cloudberries are the fruit of a flowering plant (Rubus chamaemorus) which is found in Sub-Arctic and Arctic regions. (Brrr!) The fruit grows in alpine tundras, boreal forests, and temperate bogs so you won’t find it on your next summer outing for berry picking. But if you’re really on the hunt, cloudberries can be found in northern climates around the world – including Scandinavia, Russia, Canada, and Northern England/Scotland.
Cloudberries are technically a member of the Rose family (Rosacea). The blackberry-shaped, amber-colored fruit is actually not a berry, but a cluster of stone fruits.
If you haven’t tried a cloudberry (or even heard of one) it may be because cloudberries are considered a rare delicacy by northern cultures. The plant only flowers for a few weeks per year, and since they are not cultivated commercially outside of Scandinavia, most cloudberries are wild-grown and foraged for culinary use.
Okay, okay, okay. But what do Cloudberries taste like?
“The cloudberries taste like cloudberries!” “Cloudberries? Who ever heard of cloudberries?” “We are the music makers, we are the dreamers of dreams!”
No but seriously, this fruit is slightly sweet and fruity with floral notes and a kick of tartness to balance it all out. The taste of a cloudberry is as memorable as it is delicious, with hints of raspberry, mango, apricot, passionfruit, and rosewater.
Their unique flavor is surprisingly versatile; beyond the confectionary realm, cloudberries make the occasional cameo appearance in liqueurs, beers, sauces and savory dishes (fried camembert with hot cloudberry jam, anyone?).
Best of all, cloudberries are filled with good stuff! Rich in omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, zinc, magnesium, beta-carotene, and vitamins A, C and E, cloudberries are the healthiest fruit you’ve never heard of until now.
Pssst! Cloudberries are gaining popularity.
The cloudberry’s star is definitely on the rise – 2020’s Michelin Guide called it one of the trending* ingredients of 2020, and cold cloudberry soup has been a staple on the menu at noma, a Michelin-star restaurant in Copenhagen, for years. Look at us being ahead of the trends. 😎
“You can’t get a better berry. They have a freshness and acidity, but still have a natural sweetness to balance that. As soon as you try one, that memory will stick with you for life.” – Emma Bengtsson, executive chef of New York City’s Aquavit
So although you can’t pop into your local Farmers Market and stock up on all the Cloudberries, luckily for you, you can experience the flavor in our new Sleep Cloudberry gummies. The best part? They’ll help you drift off into blissful sleep so you can dream about frolicking through the fields of real life Cloudberries.
References:
http://www.swedishfood.com/cloudberries
https://www.farmflavor.com/alaska/alaska-crops-livestock/what-are-cloudberries/
