What Are The Benefits of Chokeberries

Again and again one reads about studies that are supposed to prove health effects for chokeberry. Tests were carried out either in the test tube or on animals and can by no means be directly transferred to humans. A single literature reference gives a free hydrocyanic acid content of 1.57 mg per 100 g berries. As fresh chokeberry have a tart, astringent taste due to the high content of polyphenols and organic acids, it cannot be assumed that these berries are consumed fresh in large quantities. The chokeberry has gained popularity in recent years due to its particularly high content of flavonoids and phenolic acids, which are correlated with a number of health-promoting properties 1. There are now isolated reports that warn against eating chokeberries because of their prussic acid content. Good gut feeling: A new study from 2019 indicates that chokeberries are also good for our intestines: The polyphenols contained have a positive effect on the composition of the intestinal flora.

Chokeberry juice is certainly a very simple and tasty preparation, because the fresh berries are not for everyone due to their tart and astringent character. And chokeberry is also very suitable for people with a sweet tooth: Chokeberry fruit balls, fruit slices, dried berries in a crispy version or coated with dark chocolate, chokeberry berries are a good alternative to conventional sweets.

These plants flower and bear fruit faster and grow without any problems. Our specially developed packaging system is perfectly adapted to these plant sizes - after all, we have a special carton for every plant size, which enables safe and gentle transport. The plant serves as an additional nectar and pollen dispenser for our bees and can be planted by anyone because of its small size, where you don't want to look directly at the street, but don't want to plant an oversized hedge.

Untreated dried fruits are durable simply because they are so dry that there is too little residual moisture in the fruit to allow bacteria and fungi, the cause of mould and spoilage, to multiply. Aronia berry juice can be processed into liqueur and is an ingredient for jellies or marmalades. The planting itself can then be carried out in solitary position or within a group, in the latter case keeping a distance of at least one and a half metres between each specimen, bearing in mind that the chokeberry plant can reach a total height of 180 cm and a considerable girth.

Chokeberry as a Valuable Supplement

Since the berries contain amygdalin, which is converted in the body to toxic prussic acid, you should not consume large quantities of fresh berries. The substances are said to strengthen the immune system, lower blood pressure, cure diabetes, make beautiful skin and have many other benefits that people with a sense of health don't want to miss.

Because of its ingredients, chokeberry is indeed a valuable berry - but it is not a single food that keeps us healthy, but a balanced diet. Further published studies also show the enormous healing potential of the chokeberry with regard to numerous other diseases and ailments. However, its possibilities for this are very limited, so that it has long since been unable to cope with the flood of free radicals acting on it today.

This property often has a regulating effect on blood pressure, so that flavonoids contribute to a healthy cardiovascular system. Polyphenols are considered to be immensely powerful antioxidants, of which the chokeberry contains a very high amount compared to some other berries. Their health-promoting effect has made them an effective, healthy and tasty food in recent years, and a real trend around the blue berry has thus also found its way to us.

It is self-pollinating and can therefore also be grown as a single plant and grow up to two metres high. The chokeberry is a very undemanding plant in terms of soil - it does not like sandy and clayey soils. It can be used coarsely for infusions for teas or as a baking additive for cakes.

So we produce numerous delicacies from the small blue berry: from juices and fruit spreads to chocolates, aronia powder and much more, you will find numerous products in our webshop. You should be more careful with elderberry - you should not eat it raw, as the concentration of prussic acid is quite high here - little tip on the side. In order to stem this oxidative process, we need antioxidants, the so-called flavonoids, which are also found in other fruits, vegetables and oilseeds besides chokeberry.

The harvest time for fresh chokeberries is between August and September, because that is when the otherwise white flesh of the fruit turns a rich blue colour. For this purpose, the berries are washed for the basic recipe, the stems are sorted out and cooked in a pot for about 20 minutes. Instead of 500 grams of berries, use 500 millilitres of pure aronia juice, 700 millilitres of white or brown rum, 150 grams of honey and sugar as required.

Fresh berries are used for chokeberry recipes in the rum pot or to make liqueur and sauce that goes well with desserts. Consumption of up to 500 grams of raw chokeberries is considered harmless due to the prussic acid. Chokeberry juice should be stored in brown opaque bottles so that the ingredients and antioxidants are not lost through the effects of light.

The pea-sized, black, often waxy coated fruits, which can be harvested from mid-August to October, have a sweet-sour-tart taste and are similar to blueberries. The berries are either dried (like raisins), made into jam (e.g. together with oranges), or drunk as juice after steaming.