Guest guest Posted September 22, 2005 Report Share Posted September 22, 2005 Hi everyone, I learned about Aronia Berries for the first time the other day. Have you tried them yet? I bought some and am having my first glass as I type. It's delicious! I'm a big fan of cranberry " cocktails " (as we call them here at home) and I use the Aronia the same way ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fill a tall glass with ice Pour 1 1/2 - 2 inches of pure, 100% organic Aronia Berry juice. Add 5 to 7 drops of Stevia clear. ( " Sweetleaf " is the only brand I recommend. http://www.sweetleaf.com Fill glass with pure sparkling mineral water. (Not sweetened - keep it pure!) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SO delicious, health and refreshing. Of course, I just realized that most of you are already starting to think of mulled cider and hot tea. It was 106 here in Phoenix yesterday! Anyway... here's more on Aronia Berries... Enjoy! Michelle http://www.holisticmenopause.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Aronia Berries are Proven to Have High Antioxidant Activity ORAC stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity. ORAC is a method of measuring the overall antioxidant power of foods and supplements. Antioxidants are an integral part of maintaining good health, especially with respect to aging and age related disorders. Scientists have found that antioxidants increase our resistance to disease and boost our immune systems. Other research has shown the Aronia berry may offer protection for human blood vessels in many ways including: · Contains rich amounts of flavonoids, polyphenols, anthocyanins, and antioxidants. · Is a strong relaxing agent of the smooth muscle found in arteries. · Plays a major role in keeping blood pressure from becoming dangerously high. · Helps prevent spasms in blood vessels. · Inhibits the development of blood clots and the early process of atherosclerosis. · Relaxes the arteries, aids in blood flow, and protects the coronary arteries from oxidant injury. · Is five to ten times more powerful than the cranberry for urinary tract health. · May inhibit colon cancer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 23, 2005 Report Share Posted September 23, 2005 Is a choke berry the same as choke cherries? We have those right here on the land! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 23, 2005 Report Share Posted September 23, 2005 Michelle, What is the brand of juice that you bought. I would really like to try it. I ate an aronia berry for the first time last week. I was on a walk and saw them growing in someone's yard. Since they had nice purple berries, they got my attention. I'm pretty good at native plant ID but not cultivars. I picked a cluster of berries and a leaf to take home for later identification. On the way home I tasted one of the berries just to see what it tasted like. It was really good but since I didn't know what it was or it's edibility, I spit it out. When I got home, I couldn't ID the plant. I kept thinking the leaf looked like a buckthorn but the berries tasted sweet and I was making a guess that they weren't poisonous. Later during the week, I talked to a wild plant guy that I have coming in from WI to teach a class and described the berry and plant. He said " it's sounds like aronia, I am drinking a glass of chokeberry juice right now. " He said that he had found a patch of aronia that was about 10 acres of nothing but berries and picked three five gallon buckets full. Len, Regarding the chokecherry question. Here's something copied and pasted(with permission) from one of the wild edibles lists I belong to: >>Thank you for sharing about chokeberries. They are not sufficiently appreciated. I really like the juice! It's kind of strong for some tastes by itself, but almost anybody likes it mixed with other juices. The tendency for people to assume you say " chokecherry " when you actually say " chokeberry " is so strong that I generally use the name Aronia, which sounds so nice anyways. If I have to say " chokeberry " I say it with such an emphasis on the letter B that it scares people, and say it twice. And people still say, " Oh yeah, I love chokecherry jelly. " The *real* chokeberry, Aronia melanocarpa (sometimes listed as Pyrus melanocarpa), is a small woody shrub that has lovely red leaves in the fall and a blueberry-sized berry that turns black or red in the fall, depending on subspecies. They have alternate leaves that are elliptical with finely toothed margins, and the leaves become broader above the midpoint. Thechokeberry leaves have a row of very fine black hair-like glands along the mirdib on top (you'll probably need a lens to see these). The fruit, which ripens in fall, is tasty but acrid. The fruit has a 5-pointed indentation on the bottom that looks like a star (not like ablueberry, which has a raised crown; this is a star-shaped indentation). Fruits grow in clusters on branchlets that are reddish or pinkish. The fruit has no stone or pit. The chokeberry is most prevalent across the northern US and Canada. It like sandy soil at the water table. In some parts of Wisconsin and Michigan there are many acres thick with it. However, in many years most of the berries are stunted: very small, dry, and rather bitter. Robust, healthy fruit is very good, though, and Aronia planted for landscaping often has excellent fruit because its growing conditions tend to be better than that of the wild plants. People may not know that chokeberry juice is an important agricultural commodity, with the fruit being grown in Europe. You will see it listed in the ingredients of most Old Orchard brand juice mixes such as apple-raspberry, and many other brands use it, too. << Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 23, 2005 Report Share Posted September 23, 2005 Hi Ien, Not sure. Here's a link with a close up photo and more info. Sounds like they thrive in most environments. http://mtvernon.wsu.edu/frt_hort/aronia01.htm Michelle Is a choke berry the same as choke cherries? We have those right here on the land! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 23, 2005 Report Share Posted September 23, 2005 I bought my juice at Trader Joe's. It's 100% organic and was only $3.99! Such a deal! This link gives a close up shot of the berries. You're fortunate to have them growing near you! http://mtvernon.wsu.edu/frt_hort/aronia01.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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