Mortino

What it is

The round berries measure about 0.8 cm (⅓ in) across and turn deep blue-black when ripe. Mortiño is Vaccinium floribundum, a shrub of the high Andes. Its tartness comes with a mouth-drying edge. The fruit is eaten fresh as well as cooked into preserves.

Where it comes from

Mortiño grows in the Andes of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. It belongs to the páramo, the high mountain landscape of the northern Andes. In Cajamarca, Peru, wild pushgay bushes grow on high, rocky peaks; in the San Marcos area, people gather their fruit for fresh eating and preserves.

How it's eaten where it grows

Ecuador’s Día de los Difuntos falls on November 2. Colada morada brings mortiño together with other fruit, purple or black corn flour, herbs and spices. Layla Pujol’s version includes blackberries, pineapple, naranjilla, cinnamon and panela, an unrefined sugar. It comes warm or cold, with guaguas de pan: sweet breads shaped like little people.

In Cajamarca, pushgay becomes jam, liqueur and sorbet, and also accompanies lamb. The berry has a place beside a savoury meal as well as in a sweet preserve.

How it's grown

Mortiño can be a slender shrub 2–3 m (6½–10 ft) tall or a low plant spreading along the ground. It lives with intense mountain sunlight and freezing temperatures. In San Marcos, the fruit comes from wild plants gathered at high elevations.

When and where you'll find it

In central Ecuador, the harvest usually runs from September through November. Ambato’s markets receive berries from Tungurahua, Bolívar and Cotopaxi. In the weeks before the November holiday, stalls in Ecuadorian towns sell colada morada alongside the bread figures.

For cooks in the United States, Pujol’s adapted colada morada uses fresh or frozen blueberries. Those are a substitute for mortiño in the drink, rather than another name for this Andean fruit.