Cloudberry jam substitutes
Cloudberry jam substitutes — 6 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Use Apricot jam + lemon juice
Same amount as the cloudberry jam
4 parts apricot jam to 1 part lemon juice
The best substitute for cloudberry jam is apricot jam sharpened with lemon juice, about four parts jam to one part juice, used measure for measure. Adding a spoonful of seedy raspberry jam gets you the texture as well, and lingonberry jam fills the same role on a cheese board even though it tastes sharper.
- Verdict —
- You'll taste it
- Best for —
- multekrem
Updated 19 Aug 2026 · no sponsored swaps
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of cloudberry jam | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apricot jam + lemon juicemultekrem | Same amount4 parts apricot jam to 1 part lemon juiceYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 2 | Raspberry jam and apricot jam, half and halfmultekrem | Same amount in totalPlus a squeeze of lemonTweak it | Tweak it |
| 3 | Lingonberry jambrunost and waffles | Same amountTweak it | Tweak it |
| 4 | Peach or yellow plum preserve + lemon juicewaffles | Same amount4 parts preserve to 1 part lemon juiceYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 5 | Sea buckthorn or gooseberry preservedesserts | Same amountAnd hold back on any extra lemonTweak it | Tweak it |
| 6 | No real substitute (for multekrem)multekrem | Least-bad blend: 3 parts apricot jam, 1 part seedy raspberry jam, 1 part lemon juiceTweak it | Tweak it |
Apricot jam + lemon juice
different taste and texture
Apricot is the only common preserve that carries the same honeyed, faintly musky perfume cloudberry has, and the lemon supplies the tartness apricot lacks.
- Best for
- multekrem, waffles, cheese boards, rice pudding, pancakes
The closest flavour you can build from supermarket ingredients, and the amber colour is right. It is smoother and sweeter with no seed crunch, so a cloudberry cream dessert made this way tastes lovely but distinctly tamer and more cultivated.
Raspberry jam and apricot jam, half and half
different taste, similar texture
Raspberry brings the seeds and the perfume, apricot brings the honeyed body and the golden tone.
- Best for
- multekrem, desserts, cakes, cheese boards
The best texture match, because seedy raspberry jam has the same gritty pop cloudberry does. The colour goes pink-red rather than amber, which is obvious in a white cream dessert, and the flavour reads brightly berry instead of wild and musky.
Lingonberry jam
different taste, similar texture
It plays exactly the same part on a Nordic plate, which is the sweet-sour preserve served against something rich, and it is far easier to buy.
- Best for
- brunost and waffles, cheese boards, meatballs, pancakes, game
Sharper, more astringent and much less floral, so it is excellent alongside brown cheese, aged cheese or meat and disappointing in a cloudberry cream, where the perfume is the whole point. Stir in a teaspoon of honey to soften the edge.
Peach or yellow plum preserve + lemon juice
different taste and texture
Right colour, right honeyed sweetness, and both are widely available and cheap.
- Best for
- waffles, pancakes, cakes, rice pudding
Visually almost indistinguishable in a bowl and pleasantly tart once the lemon is in, but softer and jammier in texture and with none of cloudberry's wild musk. Good enough that nobody who has not tasted the real thing will question it.
Sea buckthorn or gooseberry preserve
different taste, similar texture
Both are Nordic, both are amber-gold, and both bring the aggressive tartness that a supermarket jam does not.
- Best for
- desserts, cheese boards, game, waffles
Correct level of sourness and correct colour, so this is the substitute that gets closest to cloudberry's bracing quality. Sea buckthorn is more resinous and gooseberry more green-tasting, so neither has the honeyed floral note.
No real substitute (for multekrem)
different taste, similar texture
In multekrem, cloudberry cream, or served as the Christmas partner to brunost and aged cheese, the berry is the entire dish and there is no honest replacement.
- Best for
- multekrem, cloudberry cream, Christmas desserts
This blend makes a very good dessert that guests will happily eat, and it is not cloudberry. If the berry genuinely matters, frozen cloudberries and jars of hjortronsylt turn up in Scandinavian delis and IKEA food halls and are worth the trip.
Questions
5 questionsAre cloudberries the same as lingonberries?
No. Lingonberries are small, red and sharply tart in a cranberry-like way, and they grow abundantly. Cloudberries are amber-orange, seedy, and taste musky and honeyed as well as tart. They cannot be reliably farmed, which is why cloudberry jam costs several times what lingonberry jam does.
What is the closest substitute for cloudberry jam?
Apricot jam with lemon juice stirred in, roughly four to one. Apricot is the only easy-to-find preserve with the same honeyed, slightly musky perfume, and the lemon restores the tartness. Add a spoonful of seedy raspberry jam if the recipe relies on the little seed crunch, as multekrem does.
Can I just leave the cloudberry jam out?
On a cheese board, yes, or swap in any tart amber preserve. In multekrem the jam is one of only two ingredients, so leaving it out gives you a bowl of whipped cream. Use the apricot and lemon blend and it becomes a genuinely good dessert under a different name.
Why is cloudberry jam so expensive?
Cloudberries have resisted commercial cultivation, so nearly all of the crop is still hand-picked from wild subarctic bogs during a short season, and yields swing wildly from year to year. Combine hand harvesting with unpredictable supply and the price follows. This is also why substitution questions dominate cloudberry searches.
Can I use frozen cloudberries to make my own jam?
Yes, frozen cloudberries work well and are easier to find than fresh. For a fridge jam you plan to eat within a couple of weeks, cook them down with sugar to taste. If you intend to water-bath can it for the pantry, follow a tested recipe exactly rather than adjusting the sugar or acid.
Tips for substituting cloudberry jam
6 tips- Real cloudberry jam is much less sweet and much looser than ordinary supermarket jam. If you substitute a standard jam, correct it with lemon juice rather than reaching for more sugar, or the dessert turns syrupy.
- The seeds are part of the experience in multekrem, so do not sieve them out and, if you are substituting, choose a jam that still has its seeds. This is the one place raspberry jam beats apricot.
- Fold jam into whipped cream at the last moment and give it only three or four turns. The acid slackens whipped cream if you beat it in, and a marbled cream also looks far better than a uniformly pink one.
- Warm it gently and loosen with a spoonful of water to make a glaze or sauce. Cloudberries are naturally high in pectin, so the jam sets firmly and needs help to pour.
- Serve it cold against something rich such as brown cheese, aged cheese, waffles or rice pudding. The contrast is the entire point, so if your substitute is sweeter than cloudberry, a squeeze of lemon is what keeps that contrast alive.
- If you are making preserves to keep, do not reduce the sugar or acid in a tested water-bath canning recipe, because those levels are part of what makes the jar safe. Check the National Center for Home Food Preservation for tested recipes. A refrigerator jam eaten within a couple of weeks can be sweetened to taste.