STRAWBERRY FIELDS FOREVER? Foraging for the Changing Meaning of Wild Berries in Estonian Food Culture (original) (raw)

This article examines the ambivalent status coinciding with the symbolically rich meanings of wild berries as food, relying on data drawn from Estonian ethnographical archives, contemporary food blogs and nutritional and culinary literature. Wild berry memories from pre-modern times up to the present encode personal as well as collective values related to wild food, foraging and food culture, but also feelings related to belonging. The analysis explores the contemporary nostalgia for and high culinary status of wild berries. Diverse values attributed to good food are contained in these berry discourses: tradition blended with gourmet cooking and a healthy anti-consumerist lifestyle combined with the desire for exclusive tastes. 1