Chokeberry: benefits, harm, contraindications, wine recipe

Chokeberry, or chokeberry, is used mainly for decorative purposes. It is planted in parks, near schools, and in recreation areas. Its berries are edible and have a pleasant sweet-tart taste. She came to us from North America at the end of the 7th, beginning of the 8th century.

The benefits of chokeberry

Chokeberry is not just a beautiful shrub with sweet berries. It has a lot of useful properties and is widely used in folk medicine. I literally make everything from it: jam, syrups, jams, dried berries for further use. This type of rowan has a high iodine content, and it helps with diseases of the endocrine system.

Chokeberry products can be used as an additional treatment for diseases such as:

• typhus;
• scarlet fever;
• rheumatism.

Among other things, this berry:

• relieves symptoms of allergic reactions;
• helps with blood clotting disorders;
• Chokeberry is recommended for use by pregnant women - it helps strengthen the immunity of both mother and baby, and also contributes to the healthy development of the embryo;
• Chokeberry berries can be used as an antispasmodic;
• they are able to have a vasodilating effect and stop bleeding;
• Afronia berries help cope with immunodeficiency, improve the functioning of the circulatory system, and help normalize the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract;
• are a good diuretic;
• used as a bile duct.

Doctors recommend rowan for radiation exposure, oncology.

So why is chokeberry so useful, and why is its range of uses so wide? This is explained quite simply. It's all about its unique composition. Aronia berries contain almost all the vitamins so necessary for humans:

• Kerotin, manganese, vitamins B, A, C, phosphorus.
• Various microelements, including high iodine content, boron, molybdenum.
• Hydrochloric acid, pectin.
• Anthocyanin.

Harm of chokeberry

Sometimes people think that since a berry is healthy, then there will be no harm from it. However, this is completely wrong. If used uncontrolled, it can cause more harm than good. It's worth paying close attention to what berries you eat. They may not be ripe. Or, on the contrary, overripe. Some may deteriorate, wrinkle or rot. Such a product must be immediately selected and discarded. The berries that are suitable for eating are dark in color, hard to the touch and with a shiny skin.

Chokeberry contains a large amount of acid, so people suffering from high acidity should not eat it.

Contraindications for chokeberry

Every medal has a reverse side. It’s the same with chokeberry. Despite all the help it can bring to the body, the damage it can cause is also not small. Therefore, before relying on berries, you should familiarize yourself with the contraindications. Or consult a doctor if you have concerns.

To avoid trouble, remember that people suffering from the following diseases should either stop eating rowan or reduce it to a minimum:

• high and low blood pressure;
• stomach diseases such as ulcers and gastritis;
• thrombosis;
• varicose veins

Chokeberry wine

Chokeberry berries make excellent tinctures, liqueurs and very tasty wine.

Chokeberry wine is ruby-colored and has a tart taste. Very often, winemakers mix berry juice with another juice to make the taste of the wine softer.

The main and most difficult process is obtaining juice. To squeeze out a sufficient amount without much loss and with minimal time, there are several ways:

• extracting juice in a standard way (using a press, sieve, juicer);
• obtaining juice using pulp fermentation;
• application of Cahors technology.

In order to make wine you will need ripe, fresh berries. Chokeberry fully ripens towards the end of September.

To make chokeberry wine, you will need:

• the berries themselves (cleaned of stalks and debris, if any) ten kilograms;
• sugar about five kilograms;
• raisins (not washed) one hundred grams;
• two liters of water.

1. Prepare containers for berries in advance. Gently crush the fruits using available means. Place in prepared container.
2. Add one and a half kilograms of sugar. Stir and add raisins. It will help start fermentation and is used as an alternative to yeast. Stir again.
3. Cover the prepared container with gauze and place in a warm place. Every day during the fermentation period, stir the pulp and knock down the foam that forms on top.
4. After stopping the fermentation process of the berries, squeeze the juice out of them. To do this, use a press, a colander, or thick fabric. What do you like best?
5. Pour the juice into a prepared container. Leave it half empty. It is necessary to close it with a water seal. If you don't have one, you can use ordinary medical rubber gloves. Just prick a few fingers with the needle.
6. Add about two or two and a half kilograms of sugar to the pulp you have left and fill it with warm water no higher than thirty degrees. Stir, cover again with gauze and leave for a week. Don't forget to stir. After a week, separate the juice again and add it to the first drained “wine”. Leave it to ferment under a water seal.
7. After another week, pour out half a liter and mix with a kilogram of sugar. Add the resulting syrup to the fermenting wine.

Then the wine ferments for another two months, sometimes a little less. During this period it is necessary to separate it from the sediment. This is done using an ordinary tube. The drained wine is poured into bottles (clean and dry), a water seal is put on them, then they are placed in a cool room (not less than eight, not more than fifteen degrees). The wine ferments there for another six months. If sediment forms in the wine during this period, it must be removed.

The finished wine is poured into bottles and sealed well. It should be stored in a cool place, such as a basement. The shelf life of such wine is up to five years. In terms of strength, it turns out to be about twelve degrees.