Chokeberry. Tips for growing and using the crop

Chokeberry is a small shrub consisting of many branches, reaching a height of two and a half meters. Rowan leaves are alternate, in shape resemble an ellipse with a pointed tip, in color, bright green, shiny, in autumn they change their color to red. Aronia blooms with five-dimensional flowers, they are white or pink in color, located in corymbose inflorescences. The fruits of this plant are in the form of a ball, usually black on top, there is a white bloom, the diameter of the fruits reaches fifteen millimeters, the berries are very juicy, they grow collected in bunches. The skin of the berries is dense, if the berry is ripe, then the pulp is black in color, the berries emit juice in color, it is ruby ​​and is strongly colored. The seeds are dark purple in color, very small and wrinkled. This plant usually blooms in early summer, around the months of May or June. The first fruits begin to ripen in late autumn and early summer. bushes bear fruit in the second year.

Black chokeberry: where can you find a berry?

This plant grows in any soil, loves light very much, is winter-hardy and always brings almost a high yield.

In North America, chokeberry can be found in the wild. In Russia, it is grown as a food, medicinal and ornamental plant.

For industry, it is bred in Altai and near Moscow. Usually it is planted in gardens. It can also be found as an ornamental plant in parks, gardens and squares of the city.

For harvesting, ripe fruits are usually taken, they are well kept fresh for about 1 month. Up to three kilograms of berries can be removed from one bush in a productive year.

The use of chokeberry in medicine

Black chokeberry berries are therapeutic and prophylactic agents. They have a hypotensive and anti-sclerosis effect, and also have a good effect on the general condition of the patient. In medicine, fresh juice or rowan fruits are usually used. They are stored in a dark place at temperatures up to plus five degrees.

In addition to the advantages of this berry, there are also disadvantages. This plant has a very low content of ascorbic acid. Therefore, for example, in the treatment of hypertension, they are used together with rose hips or black currants, which are very rich in vitamin C. Compotes and jam from the fruits of this plant are used as a hypotensive effect. If a person suffers from diseases such as stomach and duodenal ulcers, as well as gastritis, then it is not recommended to be treated with fruits and juice. The juice is used even in the treatment of burns, the site of the focus is treated externally.

Also in medicine, pills are used that are made from the fruits of mountain ash, they work well for hemorrhagic diathesis, with bleeding, hypertension, and it can also be used for prophylaxis in the treatment of anticoagulants.

Chokeberry: use in food

In a three-to-one ratio, the alcoholic juices of chokeberry and mountain ash are used in the manufacture of soft drinks in order to increase their durability and color them in the desired color.

Fresh and processed chokeberry berries are usually used in preparation and consumption. Most of all vitamins and sugars, of course, are found in fresh berries.

Aronia berries are usually used to make compotes and jams. If the jam and compotes are cooked correctly, then the vitamins remain there in the same amount. They also retain their nutritional properties in the form of mashed berries mixed with sugar. From the berries of chokeberry, juice is also obtained, which is very rich in vitamins and minerals, the juice is usually consumed fresh or preserved by pasteurization. Many different products are prepared from the berries of this plant, which have their own peculiar taste and nutritional qualities.

Many chokeberry berries are dried and frozen. In this form, they can largely retain the entire complex of vitamins, sugars and minerals.