Country & Coast: Profile of a super fruit rarely seen in the shops

Purple bilberries, many of them fat and juicy, were growing on moorland above Oxenhope in the Worth Valley at the weekend, yet books on foraging insist they should not be ripe enough for picking until August and September.

Of course, it may simply be explained by their sun-trap location in the lee of a dry stone wall. Alternatively, though, the early ripening might be more proof - as some believe - that global warming has made autumn the longest season in nature’s calendar, creating classic autumnal events from June through to December.

If there had been time I could have picked enough bilberries to fill a decent-sized pie, which is something I have got used to baking at the back end of summer from fruits harvested below White Wells on Ilkley Moor.

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Being from such hallowed ground for Tykes I serve it as “Yorkshire pudding”, but in some parts of the county the black juice, which produces a deep purple stain on lips and skin, has given it the name of “mucky-mouth pies”.

In Scotland they call the fruits blaeberries, and along the Welsh border they are wimberries. They were once gathered from every heath and moorland and still grow in profusion around swathes of heather, providing food for red grouse on shooting estates.

In the Pennines and North York Moors there is a tradition of family parties going out bilberry picking, and decades ago some families harvested enough to earn money by selling the fruit to shops. That is because it has never been grown commercially with much success. In recent years this has led to the plumper but blander-tasting blueberries being introduced from the USA.

Anyone who picks bilberries will understand why no one can grow them for profit. The operation requires great concentration since many berries are well hidden beneath the leaves. Also, pickers need considerable finesse with their fingers otherwise the small fruits will burst while being plucked from the plant.

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Even with several helpers my annual bilberry harvest produces just a fraction of the volume of blackberries I would expect to pick in the same length of time. This makes bilberries expensive if you do find them in shops. Years ago the late Sir Ken Morrison tried selling them in some of his supermarkets to emphasise his northern roots but he could never find a big enough supply.

Bilberry pies and tarts were traditionally served at funeral teas in Yorkshire but today the fruit has a more life-affirming image. It is seen as a super-food in view of its high concentrations of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties.

The pies were taken down pits by miners because, it was said, the fruit did not go mouldy in humid conditions.

Also, bilberry extract has long been a popular line with herbalists because of purported benefits to eye health. Back in the Second World War, in fact, pots of bilberry jam were put on canteen tables at RAF bases to help improve the eyesight of bomber crews.