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The differences between lingonberries and cranberries are easy to notice if you look at them more closely. Only at first glance it may seem that these are the same plants, but in fact they are not. They have different leaves and fruits that differ in taste and chemical composition, and they have different effects on the body. What exactly are the differences between these two similar berries can be found in this article.
Cranberry-like berry
Both cranberries and lingonberries belong to the same family of plants – Heathers and are perennial creeping, small shrubs with small oval leaves and round red-colored berries. The first of them is found throughout the Northern Hemisphere and prefers swamps, the second grows in the plain and mountain tundra and in forests – coniferous, deciduous and mixed, sometimes it can also be found in peat bogs.
General characteristics
The subgenus Cranberry combines 4 species, the fruits of all these varieties are edible. The Latin name for cranberries comes from the Greek words meaning “sour” and “berry”. It is known that the first settlers from Europe, who settled in America, gave cranberries the name, which in translation means “crane berry”, because its blooming flowers look like a head and a long neck of a crane. In other European languages, the name of this plant also comes from the word “crane”. The same American settlers gave cranberries another name – “bearberry”, as they noticed that bears often ate it.
Cranberry is a creeping shrub with flexible, rooting stems 15–30 cm long. Its leaves are alternate, small in size, up to 1,5 cm long and up to 0,6 mm wide, oblong or ovoid in shape, sitting on short petioles. The leaves are dark green above, ash-colored below and covered with a waxy coating. Cranberries bloom with pink or light purple flowers, which usually have 4, but sometimes 5 petals are also found.
In Our Country, in its European part, the plant blooms in May or June. Its fruits are red berries of spherical, ovoid or ellipsoidal shape, about 1,5 cm in diameter. The taste of cranberries is sour (fruits contain 3,4% organic acids and 6% sugars).
Cowberry is a shrub from the genus Vaccinium. The name of the species – vítis-idaéa – translates as “vine from Mount Ida”. It is also a creeping plant with frequent leathery leaves, elliptical or obovate, with curved edges. Their length is from 0,5 to 3 cm. The upper plates of lingonberry leaves are dark green and shiny, the lower ones are light green and matte.
The shoots of the plant can reach a length of 1 m, but usually they grow from 8 to 15 cm. Cowberry flowers are bisexual, with 4 lobes, white or pale pink, sit on short pedicels, collected in drooping brushes of 10–20 pcs. in each. This berry in appearance resembles bearberry, which is also called “bear ears”.
The fruits of lingonberries are spherical, with a shiny red skin, berries about 0,8 cm in diameter. Their taste is sweet and sour, with a slight bitterness (they contain 2% acids and 8,7% sugars). They ripen in August or September, and after frost they become watery and non-transportable. The fruits of lingonberries overwinter under a snow cover until spring, but easily crumble when touched.
What is the difference between cranberries and cranberries
It is rather difficult to confuse these two plants, since visually they are similar except for the color of the fruits, but they have more differences – this is the size and shape of the leaves and the bush, as well as the fruits themselves. The size of lingonberries is about 2 times smaller than cranberries, it can also be distinguished because the fruits grow on tassels located on thin stems.
As you can see, lingonberry-cranberry differences are in the shape, size and color of leaves and flowers, the size of berries and their taste, as well as the distribution area of plants. There are differences between these berries and in chemical composition, which will be discussed below.
Vitamin composition
Cranberries are juicy berries that are 87% water. For 100 g of product, there are 12 g of carbohydrates, 4,6 g of fiber, less than 1 g of proteins and fats. Vitamin compounds in cranberries are represented by:
- retinol and carotene;
- substances from group B (B1, B2, B3, B9);
- ascorbic acid (it is no less in cranberries than in citrus fruits);
- tocopherol;
- phylloquinone (vitamin K).
Of the mineral elements in the composition of cranberries are Ca, Fe, Mg, Ph, K, Na, Zn, Cu. Of the organic acids, citric acid contains the most, which is why the fruits have a sour taste. Of the carbohydrates, a significant proportion is occupied by simple compounds – glucose and fructose, as well as pectins, sucrose in it is much less than in lingonberries. The calorie content of cranberries is low – only 28 kcal per 100 g.
You can eat cranberries fresh or prepare vitamin juices, jelly, fruit drinks, extracts and kvass from it, and medicinal tea from the leaves, which helps against many diseases. Attention! An interesting feature of this berry is that it can be stored until the next harvest if it is put in barrels and filled with water.
The chemical composition of lingonberries differs from cranberries in that it contains fewer carbohydrates (8,2 g per 100 g of product), as well as vitamins: it also contains retinol and carotene, vitamins B1, B2 and B3, tocopherols and ascorbic acid, but there are no vitamins B9 and K. The mineral elements in lingonberries are the same as in cranberries, with the exception of zinc and copper. The calorie content of lingonberry berries is higher than that of cranberries – 46 kcal. From them you can cook the same home-made preparations as from cranberries, and also eat lingonberries just like that, fresh.
Which is better and healthier: cranberries or lingonberries
It is impossible to answer this question unequivocally, since both berries are useful and, if used correctly, even medicinal. For example, cranberries are used for colds, sore throats as an antiviral and antipyretic agent, for beriberi – as an antiscorbutic, as well as to lower blood pressure, to treat kidney diseases. It regulates the amount of cholesterol in the blood – it increases the amount of good and reduces the amount of bad. Regular consumption of cranberries enhances the secretory activity of the gastrointestinal tract, normalizes intestinal motility, and prevents the development of flatulence. And one more useful property of cranberries for modern people is that it can speed up the metabolism, thereby contributing to the speedy weight loss and weight loss.
Fresh cranberries are used as a diuretic and laxative, choleretic and anthelmintic, as well as a good antiseptic. It is useful to eat them for beriberi, high blood pressure, neuroses, tuberculosis, stones or sand in the kidneys, gastritis with low acidity, congestion in the biliary tract, urinary tract infections, pregnant women – to prevent anemia and edema. Cowberry berries have an antioxidant effect, have a strengthening effect on blood vessels and cell membranes. During the spread of respiratory diseases, they can be an excellent prophylactic or additional drug in the treatment of infectious or inflammatory diseases of the respiratory system.
In addition to fruits, lingonberry leaves are also used for treatment. They are brewed and drunk as tea for diseases of the kidneys, diseases of the urinary tract of an infectious or inflammatory nature, gout, rheumatism, arthritis, other diseases of the joints, diabetes. They act as a powerful anti-inflammatory and diuretic agent.
Противопоказания
Both cranberries and lingonberries, despite their obvious benefits for the body, have certain contraindications that must be considered when eating these berries.
For example, in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, eating cranberries is not recommended, since its acidity can provoke exacerbations of diseases that occur in a chronic form (especially stomach and duodenal ulcers), as well as cause heartburn. But this does not apply to lingonberries, since it contains less acids. Cranberries should be eaten with extreme caution by women while breastfeeding: some of the substances in its composition can provoke an allergy in a child.
Lingonberries are not recommended for use at low blood pressure, as they can cause a sharp drop in blood pressure and even a hypertensive crisis. A contraindication is also individual intolerance to certain substances that are in the chemical composition of both berries.
As you can see, in some diseases it is better to refrain from eating cranberries and lingonberries, but healthy people who do not have health problems should be careful, moderate and not eat them in excess. Excessive consumption of the fruits of these plants can provoke an excess of ascorbic acid, which negatively affects tooth enamel, destroys it and can cause the development of dental diseases.
Conclusion
The differences between lingonberries and cranberries are not very significant; in general, they are related plants that are similar in appearance, chemical composition and effect on the body. But still they are not identical, there are differences, and you need to know about them when using a particular berry for food or plant leaves for medicinal purposes.