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Practical Uses of Aronia Berries

March 5th, 2010
aronia berries

aronia berries

Despite their not so appetizing alias, the aronia berry, or choke berry, is actually a superfruit that is both easily accessible and practical for human consumption.  Aronia berries grow naturally in the United States but are becoming a profitable industry as well because of their health benefits.  Insects, animals, and disease are inclined to leave the fruit along, making them easy to grow, care for, and profit from.  The black chokeberry has the highest concentration of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, but red chokeberries are just as tasty.  Despite their namesake and initial bitter, dry flavor, choke berries can be consumed in a variety of ways.  In Eastern Europe, the berries are popular for wine and tea, often combining the aronia with apple to temper its bitterness.  Drying the berries and combining with white tea leaves or other dried fruit produces a unique breakfast tea.  The juice of the aronia berry is not just good for drinks, but also for syrup. Berries and chocolate are a classic dessert, and combining the two in a muffin is even better. These aronia white chocolate muffins sound delicious.  Here’s to flavorful snacks and good health!

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Every Heard of a Choke Berry?

March 2nd, 2010

Elderberry, boysenberry, huckleberry, and…choke berry? This off-beat fruit doesn’t just have an unusual name (as many berries do); it also merits recognition as one of the rare fruits and, of course, as a uniquely healthy fruit. The black chokeberry is especially full of antioxidants. This super-fruit that is abundant in the United States. Choke berries are known for their bitter, or “choking,” flavor that must be tempered by other sweet and savory ingredients when eaten. They are otherwise known as aronia berries.

The juice of a choke berry is such a dark, saturated purple that has been used in inks and dyes as well as for healing purposes by Native Americans. In spite of a dissuasive name, choke berries have extensive health benefits as they are packed with vitamins and minerals. Like many berries, chokeberries are most enjoyable when blended with sweeter fruits. Mixing with apple juice for a more enticing flavored drink can alleviate the sour taste of the berries.

Black choke berries should be used for optimum antioxidant intake, though the juice of other aronia berries (such as the red choke berry) taste similar. Substitute aronia berries for cranberries or blueberries in common recipes for muffins, scones, or other pastries for a unique treat.  Use all three – why not?

Want more choke berry?  You can buy the plant online, Black Aronia Berry (Chokeberry) Plant, Hefty 30-40 Inch.  Or simply get the berry in the form of a gel cap – Chokeberry Extract Aronia Melanocarpa 150 Mg 60 Caps

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Antioxidant Fruits: Benefits, Uses and Availability

December 20th, 2009

Antioxidant Fruits:
Benefits, Uses & Availability

THIS DOMAIN AND CONTENT ARE FOR SALE, PLEASE CONTACT US IF INTERESTED

Antioxidant fruits seem to be all the rage these days.

As children, we were told to eat our fruit and vegetables. In fact, the USDA recommends 3-5 servings of fruit and vegetables a day. However, most of us don’t get that in a day or even in a week! It is very important you for you consume your serving portion of antioxidant fruits every day.

Antioxidant-Fruits.com is for those who are looking to learn more about well-known as well as exotic and unusual fruits with antioxidants and for those of you that are looking for one or more of the following:

  • Protects Cells
  • Strengthens Memory
  • Fights Cellular Mutation
  • Inhibits Platelet Aggregation and Clotting
  • Helps Digestion
  • Combats Effects of Diabetes
  • Strengthens Vision
  • Increases Mental Clarity
  • Help Prostate
  • Strengthens the Heart
  • Provides Essential Fatty Acids
  • Stabilizes Proper Cholesterol
  • Scavengers for Free Radicals
  • Strengthens Cell Membrane
  • Builds Proteins
  • Restores Antioxidant Number
  • Strengthens Nervous System
  • Provides Essential Oils
  • Fights Viruses
  • Fights Bacteria
  • Impedes NRS Free Radicals
  • Relives Inflammation
  • Helps Reduce Risk of Cancer
  • Enhances Cellular Communication
  • Strengthens Immune System

Antioxidant Fruits include:

  • Beta-carotene
  • Lutein
  • Lycopene
  • Selenium
  • Vitamin A
  • Vitamin C
  • Vitamin E

People who eat fruit rich in polyphenols and anthocyanins have a lower risk of cancer, heart disease and some neurological diseases. Antioxidants inhibit oxidative damage. “Scientists now believe that free radicals are casual factors in nearly every known disease, from heart disease to arthritis to cancer to cataracts. In fact, free radicals are a major culprit in the aging process itself,” stated Lester Packer, Ph.D., in his article, “The Antioxidants Miracle”.

While the açaí berry is the gemstone of antioxidant fruits, this website also features other super fruits selected for their distinctive and beneficial properties. Recognizable fruits such as apricots, bananas, blueberries, cranberries, kiwi, pears, pomegranates, prunes, purple grapes, and white grapes, contain a unique blend of nutrients, minerals, and antioxidants.

There are, of course, more exotic and less known fruits that accentuate the power of the açaí berry: acerola cherries, aronia berries, bilberries, camu camus, lychees, nashi pears, passion fruit, and wolfberries (Goji).

The Acerola Cherry from Brazil is used for its high content of vitamin C. There are other great forms of cherry, like Tart Cherry Juice.

The Aronia Berry, a native American bush, has been reported to contain antioxidants, polyphenols, minerals and vitamins and very high levels (over five times greater than those found in cranberries) of anthocyanins and flavonoids.

The Bilberry’s strong antioxidant fruits composition makes it an excellent free radical scavenger, which helps counteract cell damage that leads to premature aging and disease. Bilberries have been used in the treatment of menstrual cramps, alleviating ulcers, varicose veins and angina. The flavonoids found in bilberries thin the blood and prevent fragility of the capillaries.

The Camu camu is an antioxidant fruits found throughout the Amazon has the highest recorded amount of natural vitamin C known on the planet. It is a significant source of potassium and has a full complement of minerals and amino acids that can aid in the absorption of vitamin C.

The Lychee, originating in South China, is a very good source of Vitamin C, riboflavin, potassium and copper.

The Nashi Pear, originating in East Asia, is a great source of dietary fiber, and also are very high in potassium and other essential minerals.

Native to Brazil, the Passion Fruit is an antioxidant fruits that is a good source of vitamins A and C, as well as potassium and iron.

Lastly, the Wolfberry, native of China, contains 19 types of amino acids and 21 trace minerals. It has more beta-carotene than carrots and nearly as much Vitamin C as oranges and protein as bee pollen.

These fruits are extremely rich in antioxidants among other essential elements. These strong antioxidants go to battle against free-radical molecules that invade the body, helping to combat premature aging and even help prevent many serious diseases.

This website looks at the benefits, uses and availability of these fruits. It not only examines individual fruits, where to get them, where to travel to find them, but also a number of recipes and various ideas on how to add them to your diet. Should you have another suggestion for this website, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Antioxidant Fruits, Antioxidant Juice, Availability of Fruit, Benefits of Fruit, Fruit Farm Directory, Fruit Pictures, ORAC Value, The Fruit Blog, Travel to Fruit, Uses of Fruit, Where to Buy , , , ,

Aronia White Chocolate Muffins

December 20th, 2009

by tata4now
from Lake Emily

Wet Ingredients
1 egg
1/2 c Brown Sugar
1 c Sour cream or Buttermilk
2 TB Vegetable Oil
2 TB Lighter Bake

Dry Ingredients
1 c White Flour
1/2 c whole meal flour (irish)
1/8 c Ground Flax
1/8 c Wheat germ
1/4 c toasted oats, Ground
1 TB Baking Powder
1/2 t salt

Fruit
1 c Aronia berries
2 Tb candied ginger, chopped fine
1/2 white choc chips, chopped

Topping
2 TB Raw Sugar

Whisk together wet ingredients in small bowl
Sift dry ingredients x2 into large bowl, create a well.
Add wet ingredients, stir until just mixed
Pulse fruit ingredients in food processor a few times.
Fold into batter.
Use 1/4 cup amounts, fill a 12 count muffin tin.
Spinkle each muffin with raw sugar.
Bake at 400 for 15-18 minutes.

Antioxidant Fruits, Fruit Recipes , , ,

Village Winery

December 12th, 2009

Village Winery and Vineyards

The Village Winery and Vineyards

Village Winery and Vineyards

The Winery is a small farm winery with 10 acres of vineyards. Among other wine endeavors, the winery focuses on the production of elder berries and aronia berries.

The Village Winery - Vineyards

The Winery’s wine offerings are:

  • Apple Wine
  • Viognier
  • Cabernet Franc Rosé
  • Merlot
  • Merlot Cabernet Franc Blend
  • Cabernet Franc
  • Petit Verdot
  • Elderberry Wine

Elder Berries at The Village Winery and Vineyards

The Winery’s Elderberry Offerings:

Buy any of The Village Winery’s products online, by clicking on the links above.

Village Winery and Vineyard 3 Products

Some of the highlights of The Village Winery’s Elderberry Products are:

  • Flavor – made from fruit straight from the vine! Not from concentrate!
  • Health Benefits – high in antioxidants, anthocyanins and quercetin flavinoids. Elder berries are 17 times higher in antioxidants than raspberries and strawberries
  • Reasonable Pricing – The Winery’s cost is one third that of Elderberry Health Supplements
  • Many uses – use syrup on ice cream, yogurt, cheesecake, etc. and their Elderberry Beverage is a refreshing non-alcoholic beverage – chilled or hot w/ mulling spices
  • A Green Product! – Since the Elderberry is a native plant to VA, it does not require the typical agricultural chemical treatments like other fruits do
  • Made in the U.S.A. – Made on the vineyard and therefore supports the local Waterford, VA community and the greater USA community

Village Winery Ice Cream

The Village Winery has plans for an Aronia Berry Juice line in the late Fall. Please join their mailing list to be contacted when the juice becomes available for purchase.

The winery also allows for picnics on their property and often hosts local village residents who make arts, crafts and other products. If you’d like to join their mailing list, you will receive the latest updates about the ongoings at the winery. Tours are also available.

Elder Bloom at The Village Winery and Vineyards

Tours
Saturday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Directions
From Leesburg ~
Take Route 7 west approximately 4 miles.
Exit onto Rt. 9 west (Charles Town Pike).

Go ½ mile and turn right onto Clarks Gap Road (before the Shell station).

Go 3 miles (passing through the village and bearing right onto Loyalty as you leave the village).

Turn right onto Browns Lane just past Waterford Elementary School.

Winery and vineyard are the first driveway on the right.
Follow signs to parking

ANTIOXIDANT FRUITS

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Choke Berry

December 11th, 2009

The choke berry is also known as aronia berries. There are black chokeberries (Aronia melanocarpa) and red chokeberries.

The aronia berry plant, the black chokeberry variety grows in height to 3-6 feet and in width 3-6 feet as well. This plant is grown from Nova Scotia, Canada to Florida, USA and Indiana USA. In mid-spring the flowers come and they are small and white. In late summer and early autum, the berries appear which are small and round dark purple to black (for the black chokeberry variety). The leaves on the shrub will turn purple and red in the fall. It is a very hardy shrub, tolerating swampy ground, dry sandy soil, drought, salt and pollution.

More Information on the Aronia Berry Plant Description

Uses:

Aronia berries have many uses, some of which are listed below.

  • Ornamental plants for gardens
  • Aronia Juice – high in vitamin C and antioxidants
  • Black Chokeberries – used for wine and jam after being cooked first
  • Flavoring or Colorant for certain beverages and yogurt
  • Red chokeberries are often eaten raw
  • Red Chokeberries used in jam

Benefits:

Because of their dark color, black chokeberries are very high in antioxidants, especially anthocyanins.

  • Aronia melanocarpa (black chokeberry) – Total anthocyanin content in chokeberries is 1480 mg per 100 g of fresh berries
  • Aronia Juice – high in vitamin C and antioxidants
  • High ORAC Value
  • Functional food
  • Nutraceutical

Because of the choke berry’s high antioxidant content, it has been suggested that it is a dietary preventative for diseases caused by oxidative stress. Such diseases include:

  • colorectal cancer (Lala et al. 2006)
  • cardiovascular disease (Bell & Gochenaur 2006)
  • chronic inflammation (Han et al. 2005)
  • gastric mucosal disorders (peptic ulcer) (Valcheva-Kuzmanova et al. 2005)
  • eye inflammation (uveitis) (Ohgami et al. 2005)
  • liver failure (Valcheva-Kuzmanova et al. 2004)

Availability:

In North America, the choke berry is becoming more popular due to the recent discoveries in helping prevent certain diseases; therefore it is becoming easier to find in nurseries in North America. There are three varieties of the plant, the black chokeberry, the red variety and a purple variety, which is a hybrid of the black and red varieties. Each plant is identified by its berry color.

Aronia Berries on Antioxidant-fruits.com

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Aronia Berry Uses

December 10th, 2009

Aronia Berries by Gary (Duboman01)

Aronia Berry Uses: The aronia berry or chokeberry (Photo Left by Gary) is commonly used to make juice. Along with the bilberry, cranberry, & other fruit and fruit juices, the chokeberry has several healthful properties. A 2004 animal-modeled study (Matsumoto et al) conducted at the Department of Food Science & Human Nutrition Faculty of Human Life Science at Fuji Women’s University, showed that the antioxidant effects of chokeberry extract had a “gastro protective” effect in treating acute gastric hemorrhagic lesions in rats, suggesting it might be an effective natural treatment for severe stomach problems in humans, including ulcers. A 2003 study (Malik et al) conducted at the Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Maryland, has provided preliminary indication of defense against colon cancer.

Aronia Berries by OutdoorPDKA 2002 animal-modeled study (Kowalczyk et al), conducted in the Department of Pharmacology of the Military Medical Academy, Lodz, Poland, tested anthocyanins from the aronia berry. The study concluded that aronia berry anthocyanins might be useful in combating “oxidative stress” in cardiovascular patients. Yet another study (Simeonov et al, 2002) conducted at the Medical University in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, found that chokeberry juice without sugar added (artificially sweetened) was “a valuable adjunct” to treating patients with diabetes. Another Bulgarian study (Borissova et al, 1994) showed that chokeberry juice, due to its anthocyane flavonoids, had an anti-inflammatory value, when inflammation was induced by histamine & serotonin. Additional studies have been conducted, either proving or hinting at possibilities of staggering health benefits for blood circulation, urinary tract health, heart health and gastrointestinal health.

Many people are in love with the ground up dusty particles of “herbal medicines,” the majority of which have no effect beyond that of a placebo when tested in double blind studies. Yet if people would incorporate more fruit into their diet, & especially such high-antioxidant phenolics in fruits & fruit juices, as can be had from blueberries, cranberries, chokeberries & the like, they might actually obtain many of the benefits they need!

Native Americans used the berries for medicinal purposes, dyes for clothing, and for preserving meats and other foods.

Aronia Berries by OutdoorPDK

Aronia berries have been proven to:

  • improve circulation
  • strengthen blood vessels
  • suppress viruses
  • act an anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-carcinogenic within the human body

Juice from the aronia berry prevents the formation of free radicals, just one aronia berry uses. Free radicals cause chronic diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular ailments.

New research has shown that aronia berries uses are:

  • May offer protection for human blood vessels
  • Contains rich amounts of flavonoids, polyphenols, anthocyyanis and powerful anti-oxidants
  • Are a strong relaxing agent of the smooth muscle found in arteries
  • Play a major role in keeping the blood pressure from becoming dangerously high
  • Help prevent spasms in blood vessels
  • Inhibit the development of blood clots and the early process of atherosclerosis
  • Are very potent in helping relax the arteries, aiding blood flow, and protecting the coronary arteries from oxidant injury
  • Are five to ten times more potent than cranberries for urinary tract health

Learn more about the Aronia Berry uses, benefits and availability:

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Aronia Berry

December 10th, 2009

The aronia berry (also known as the choke berry or the Black Chokeberry (Aronia melancarpa/Aronia melanocarpa)), a close cousin of the blueberry, is known for its powerful antioxidant properties and benefits of those properties. They are dark pigmented berries that are extremely high in antioxidants. Higher than blueberries, higher than cranberries, higher, even, than pomegranates. Although native to the Americas, it is far more popular in Eastern Europe where its juice has been known to help people with heart conditions.

It has high levels of proanthocyanins and quinic acid (ten times more than cranberries). Quinic acid prevents urinary infection.

Some nutritional benefits are:

  • Polyphenols
  • Anthocyanins
  • Quinic Acid
  • Vitamins
  • Minerals
  • Flavonols

Aronia Berries by Lakeladyjeanne

In 2006, Nutrition and Cancer published a study done by the University of Maryland. The study on the choke berry found that this antioxidant berry may provide protection against colon cancer.

The fruit was commonly used by the Native Americans for the color as well as for fresh consumption. It is used in jelly making, candies, pie and cookie fillings, yogurt, sorbet and flavored milk.

The berry’s juice is extremely tart, so the natural juice is best sweetened. When sweetened it is a cross between a blueberry and a blackberry. The actual juice has a very dark purple color.

It can help with:

The author of The Aronia Berry Blog, mentioned that he found this statement about the berry’s bush:

“This shrub is so beautiful, easy to grow and so productive that it will become a staple in American backyards, as it has in Eastern Europe. In Europe and recently in the U.S. it is being widely used in delicious juices, soft drinks, jams and wine. It’s not an “aronia’s conclusion” that this, and the seabuckthorn, are the most productive fruiting bushes in captivity. The fruit is tart eaten fresh even when fully ripe. It is very high in Vitamin C. It is native to the U.S., but the best varieties were bred in Europe.”

It has a high ORAC Value, due to the high concentration of anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins, both of which contribute to it’s dark, almost black, color.

ORAC Chart

Probably the best source of this wonderful berry, other than the actual aronia berry itself is in a drink, which you can buy online is the Aronia Berry supplement.

Learn more about the Berry and its benefits, uses and availability:

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Aronia Berries

December 10th, 2009

Aronia Berries by Outdoor PDK

Aronia berries are known for their high antioxidant powers. The common American name for the berry that grows on the plant is the chokeberry.

Perhaps the most popular of this berry is the Black Chokeberry (Aronia melancarpa/Aronia melanocarpa). Due to the dark color of the berries, the fruit is high in antioxidants.

The berries are closely related to blueberries and have higher antioxidant levels than blueberries or even pomegranates.

Although the berries are native to North America, they have become popular in Europe and are grown there in gardens and on berry farms. The aronia juice produced from the berries is known to help people with heart problems.

Benefits

The berries have high levels of proanthocyanins and quinic acid, which prevents urinary tract infections. In fact, the berries are have ten times the amount of quinic acid than do cranberries.

Including polyphenols and quinic acid, here are some of the other benefits of the aronia berry.

  • Polyphenols
  • Anthocyanins
  • Quinic Acid
  • Vitamins, especially Vitamin C
  • Minerals
  • Flavonols

And from these benefits, there are these human diseases or health problems that the berries help to eliminate or prevent.

The University of Maryland did a study on the choke berry and found that this antioxidant berry may provide protection against colon cancer (Source: Nutrition and Cancer 2006). The berry also has a high ORAC Value.

ORAC Chart

Uses

Historically, the berries were consumed by Native Americans right from the vine. They also used them for dye, as the berries are very dark in color.

Nowadays, the berries are used to make jelly, candies, pies, breads, cookie fillings, yogurt, flavored milk, aronia juice and sorbet among other things.

Availability

It’s been reported that the Aronia Plant is very easy to grow and that is grows quickly.The aronia plant can be purchased online. In fact, you can even purchase the plant on line.

Aronia Berries by Birgit F

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