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Differences between lingonberries and cranberries are easy to notice if you look closely at them. Only at first glance it may seem that these are the same plants, but in reality 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 read in this article.
Cranberry-like berry
Both cranberries and lingonberries belong to the same plant family - Heather and are perennial, creeping, low-height 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 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 the cranberry a name, which in translation means "berry-crane", because its blossoming flowers are similar to the head and 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 the cranberry another name - "bear berry", as they noticed that bears often ate it.
Cranberry is a creeping shrub with flexible, rooting stalks 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, sitting on short petioles. Above, the leaves are dark green, below - ashy and covered with a waxy bloom. Cranberries bloom with pink or light purple flowers, which usually have 4, but sometimes 5 petals.
In Russia, in its European part, the plant blooms in May or June. Its fruits are a red berry of a spherical, ovoid or ellipsoidal shape, approximately 1.5 cm in diameter. Cranberries have a sour taste (fruits contain 3.4% organic acids and 6% sugars).
Lingonberry 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 of an elliptical or obovate shape, with curved edges. Their length is from 0.5 to 3 cm. The upper plates of the lingonberry leaves are dark green and shiny, the lower ones are light green and dull.
The shoots of the plant can reach a length of 1 m, but usually they grow from 8 to 15 cm. Lingonberry 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".
Lingonberry fruits 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.Lingonberries overwinter under a snowy shelter until spring, but they easily crumble when touched.
What is the difference between cranberries and lingonberries
It is rather difficult to confuse these two plants, since they are visually similar only in the color of the fruits, but they have more differences - the size and shape of the leaves and bush, as well as the fruits themselves. Lingonberries are about 2 times smaller than cranberries in size; they can also be distinguished because fruits grow on tassels located on thin stems.
As you can see, the lingonberry-cranberry differences lie in the shape, size and color of leaves and flowers, the size of berries and their taste, as well as the area of distribution of plants. There are differences between these berries and in chemical composition, which will be discussed below.
Vitamin composition
Cranberries are a juicy berry that is 87% water. There are 12 g of carbohydrates, 4.6 g of fiber, less than 1 g of proteins and fats per 100 g of the product. Vitamin compounds in cranberry fruits are presented:
- retinol and carotene;
- substances from group B (B1, B2, B3, B9);
- ascorbic acid (there is no less of it 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, the most citric acid is contained, 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 lingonberry. The calorie content of cranberries is low - only 28 kcal per 100 g.
Cranberries can be eaten fresh or made from it vitamin juices, jelly, fruit drinks, extracts and kvass, and from the leaves - medicinal tea that helps against many diseases. Attention! An interesting feature of this berry is that it can be stored until the next harvest if it is placed in barrels and filled with water.
The chemical composition of lingonberry differs from cranberry 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. 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. You can make the same homemade preparations from them 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, are even medicinal. For instance, cranberries are used for colds, angina as an antiviral and antipyretic agent, with vitamin deficiencies - as an antiscorbutic, as well as to lower blood pressure, for the treatment of renal diseases. It regulates blood cholesterol - 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 another useful property of cranberries for modern people - it can speed up metabolism, thereby contributing to the speedy weight loss and weight loss.
Fresh lingonberry berries are used as a diuretic and laxative, choleretic and anthelmintic, as well as a good antiseptic. It is useful to eat them for vitamin deficiencies, high blood pressure, neuroses, tuberculosis, stones or sand in the kidneys, gastritis with low acidity, congestion in the biliary tract, urinary tract infections, for pregnant women - to prevent anemia and edema. Lingonberry berries have an antioxidant effect, have a strengthening effect on blood vessels and cell membranes. During the period of 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 kidney diseases, diseases of the urinary tract of an infectious or inflammatory nature, gout, rheumatism, arthritis, other joint diseases, diabetes. They act as a powerful anti-inflammatory and diuretic.
Contraindications
Both cranberries and lingonberries, despite their obvious benefits for the body, have certain contraindications that must be taken into account when eating these berries.
For example, in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, it is not recommended to eat cranberries, 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 there are less acids in it. Women should be extremely careful to eat cranberries while feeding a baby: some of the substances that make up it can provoke an allergy in a child.
Lingonberry is not recommended to be consumed at low blood pressure, as it can cause a sharp drop in blood pressure and even a hypertensive crisis. A contraindication is also an 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 need to be careful, moderate and not eat them too much. Excessive consumption of the fruits of these plants can provoke an excess of ascorbic acid, which negatively affects the 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 similar in appearance, in chemical composition and action on the body, related plants. But still, they are not identical, there are differences, and you need to know about them when eating a particular berry or plant leaves for medicinal purposes.
