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<P align="justify"> Gathering has be … <P align="justify"> Gathering has been practised throughout the ages, mainly for food but sometimes also for medicinal herbs. It has been one of the ways of obtaining sustenance for peoples that live off the land. The further north one goes, the more important meat becomes as a source of nourishment, and the smaller becomes the significance of vegetable food. However, in Lapland vegetable food has been very important as a supplement to meat obtained from hunting and fishing. Among the Saami, gathering has supplemented reindeer husbandry, hunting and fishing. The plants and berries that are picked ripen by the end of the short summer in Lapland. The tastiest ones are eaten fresh, but some are dried for later consumption. </P>
<P align="justify"> The stalks of angelica used to be picked in early summer before the plant flowered and eaten as vegetables. Angelica was also used for medicinal purposes, to cure diarrhoea and pinworms and also as a sedative. It was also important in preventing scurvy. Unlike in Sweden, in Finnish Lapland it was not cultivated, or only to a small extent. Another plant that was an important source of nourishment for the Saami was sorrel, which was used as a vegetable and mixed with milk all over Lapland.</P>
<P align="justify"> The soft inner bark (phloem) of trees is usually considered an emergency food, but for the Saami, especially in the Inari region and in Forest Lapland, it was commonly used. Several early mediaeval bone tools for preparing the bark have been found in Juikenttä in the municipality of Sodankylä, which is an indication that its use is an ancient practice. It was mixed with meat and fish soups, and it was combined together with fish fat into a porridge. It helped to remove hunger at times when the fish catch was poor, but it was also used to ward off scurvy and tape worms.</P><P align="justify"> The most common berry in Lapland is the crowberry, which grows almost everywhere. It was eaten raw, and it was added to buttermilk or fish broth. Uncooked berries were preserved for the winter. Buried under the snow, crowberries also survive the winter well, so they were eaten in the spring too. Cloudberries were eaten raw or mixed with milk or buttermilk. They were also added to gruels and porridges, and they were made into a mash together with fish or fish fat and stock. The Skolts preserved cooked cloudberries in barrels for the winter. They could be preserved by freezing them in them own stock or by submerging them in a fresh spring. In addition to crowberries and cloudberries, bilberries were also prized.</P>
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[[Table of contents: Means of livelyhood and transport|Table of contents: Means of livelyhood and transport]]<BR><BR>lyhood and transport]]<BR><BR> +
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