Höibeeristurm

“Heiti or Höibeeri?”

“Well, my family would say Höibeeri, but in canton Bern I’m pretty sure they’re Heiti…” Sam shrugged, “check the atlas.”

That’s the Kleinersprachatlas der deutschen Schweiz of course, the bible of Swiss German dialect. Maps in the book (and online) depict which regions use which various dialect words for common items.

Like blueberry.

“The border seems to be the Emme,” said Sam, pointing to the river that gives our valley, the Emmental, its name.

So, our friends in Bern and Thun say Heiti, and our neighbours and my in-laws call them Höibeeri.

“Wotsch du Höibeeri oder Himbeeri?” I asked my cousin’s daughter—did she want blueberry or raspberry? She stared blankly until my cousin smiled and said, “Sie meint Blaubeeri oder Himbeeri.”

They live in Glarus.

But whatever you call them, blueberries are delicious and they make an excellent Sturm.

German for storm, Sturm in the culinary world seems to describe drinks, or fruity desserts.

My go-to cookbook for recipes from the Emmental (Fritz Gfeller’s Rezepte aus dem Emmental) lists three Sturms: raspberry, blackberry and blueberry—plus two “Breis” (mush/mash), two “Gschlaber” (I have no translation/onomatopoeic), and a “Schuum” (froth/foam).

You can adjust the recipe as desired, making a few more or less sweet breadcrumbs depending on how much bread you have and a few more blueberries won’t hurt either.

I cut back on the cream—Gfeller’s book lists 250 ml (it is the Emmental, after all), and the recipe from Swissmilk has a whopping 300 ml (they are the dairy lobby, after all).

Anyway, I like a more blueberry-centric dessert.

For best results use leftover Zopf or other buttery bread.

500 g blueberries

2 tbsp sugar

knob of butter

2 tbsp sugar

300 g leftover bread, cubed

100 ml whipping cream

drizzle of vanilla paste or extract

Place your blueberries in a large bowl and mash lightly with a potato masher or fork. Sprinkle with 2 tbsp sugar and mix in. Set aside.

In a large frying pan, heat the butter over medium heat. When it starts to sputter, sprinkle over 2 tbsp sugar. Let the sugar dissolve and start to caramelize. Then add the cubed bread and keep stirring until the bread is toasted.

Remove the bread and set aside.

Add the blueberries to the frying pan and cook for a few minutes until they begin to break down. Stir in the cream and vanilla and take off the heat. Have a quick taste for sweetness, and if the berries are too tart, add a bit more sugar.

Spoon into bowls, topping with the toasted bread.