Chokeberry - when to harvest? Chokeberry: cultivation and useful properties When you need to collect chokeberry.

Different berries are ripened in the time allotted only for them. You can feast on some berries already at the beginning of summer, while others need to wait for ripening almost until frost. These late berries include chokeberry, or chokeberry.

This tall shrub can be found in gardens and squares, as it is used mainly for landscaping streets. When aronia blooms (June-July), the entire bush is covered with white or pink flowers, collected in corymbose inflorescences.

Large black berries appear in August-September. But at this time they are still too tart, so few people pick them off the branches. Everyone is waiting for frost. It is then that the berries become sweet and tasty.

Aronia berries are used not only in the form of jam, wine, but also harvested for medicinal purposes.

Aronia is prescribed for atherosclerosis, hypertension, anemia, and these berries are an excellent vitamin and tonic for asthenia and hypovitaminosis.

When to harvest chokeberry

Rowan is delicious only when it is fully ripe. Unripe rowan fruits are tart, astringent and unsweetened. Therefore, before harvesting, you should try a few berries to understand whether the harvest time has come or not.

Experienced harvesters determine the ripeness of chokeberry by its juice. If the juice is purple, then the berries are already ripe. Light juice indicates that it is too early to start picking berries.

For jam or compote harvest juicy berries that have already reached maximum ripeness. Compote from unripe rowan berries will turn out with a tart taste and pronounced sourness. But do not wait until the berries begin to wither, wrinkle and lose juice.

Very often, rowan is added to compotes from other berries to give them a rich color. In this case, you can not wait until the rowan berries are filled with juice. For compote, they can be collected already in early autumn, when they acquire a dark color. If you put only a handful of such berries in compote, then there will be no astringency.

If aronia berries want dry or keep fresh as long as possible, then in this case the berries can be left on the bush until October. By this time, the rowan berries will already ripen well, fill with juice, but will still be quite dense.

At the same time, you can collect mountain ash for freezing. At the same time, all useful substances and vitamins are preserved in it.

For wine mountain ash is harvested in October, when the berries are full of juice, lose their astringency, become soft and sweet.

To collect mountain ash, choose a sunny day after the rain, which will wash the ripe berries and bring down the spoiled ones. It is desirable that the berries are already dry by this time, otherwise they will not be stored well.

How to collect chokeberry

Chokeberry is harvested along with the stalks. To do this, the brushes are cut with scissors, put in a box, then transferred to the attic. Clusters of mountain ash are reviewed so that rotten ones are not caught among healthy berries. Then they hang it on a rope and leave it in that position.

If there is no attic, mountain ash can be stored in wooden boxes. Shields of mountain ash are put into this container, sprinkled with dry moss. If the room is cool (the air temperature does not rise above 5 ° C), the berries can lie all winter.

How to freeze chokeberry berries

Rowan berries are separated from the stalks, sorted out.
Washed in cold water. Dry on a towel.
Lay out on a tray in one layer.
Place in the freezer until the berries harden.
Pour into portioned plastic bags, release as much air as possible, tie well.
Removed to freezer for storage.

Frozen chokeberry can be stored until the next harvest.

How to dry chokeberry

Method 1

Berries are cut from the branches along with the stalks.
Then they are separated from the stalks, sorted out, removing spoiled, rotten or unripe ones.
After that, the mountain ash is poured into trays or sieves, put in an oven or oven heated to 50-55 ° C, and dried until tender. You can not set the temperature above 60 ° C, because then the berries may not dry out, but bake.

Well-dried rowan berries are shiny, strongly wrinkled. The taste is sweet and sour, the aroma is pleasant. If you squeeze a handful of such berries in a fist, then they should not stick together into a lump.

Method 2

Rowan berries are cut from the branches, sorted, spoiled fruits are removed.
Fold the mountain ash in a colander, lower it into boiling water, boil for 3-4 minutes. Leave in a colander to drain all the liquid.
Aronia is laid out on a sieve or tray and dried in a dryer at a temperature of 60 ° C. In this case, you need to monitor the constant circulation of air.
Dried berries are left in the air to cool. You can not put them immediately in a container, because they will begin to emit condensate.
Then packed in clean bags or boxes.

How to store dried chokeberry

Dried rowan berries are stored in a dry, cool, well-ventilated place. The air temperature should be around +10 °C. Dried rowan is packaged in cardboard boxes, wooden or plywood boxes, bags made of dense fabric. The bottom of the container must be covered with thick waxed paper.

A small amount of dried rowan can be stored in a glass jar with a ground-in lid.

Useful blanks from chokeberry

From mountain ash cook jam, compotes, jams. For medicinal purposes, fresh berries are used - both whole and pureed, rowan juice, infusions from dried fruits.

Infusion of dried chokeberry berries: 2–4 tbsp. l. rowan berries are placed in a thermos and pour 2 tbsp. boiling water. Leave until the next day. Ready infusion should be drunk in three divided doses half an hour before meals.

Chokeberry with sugar: 1 kg of autumn berries are rubbed with 1.5 kg of sugar. You need to store this jam in the refrigerator.

Chokeberry on honey: the mountain ash, collected after the first frost, is sorted out, laid out on a baking sheet in a thin layer, placed in the oven. Baked berries are mixed with boiling honey. Cook like regular jam.

Note to the owner

Despite the beneficial properties, chokeberry also has contraindications. These berries are not recommended for people with peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum, with arterial hypotension, as well as with increased blood clotting.

Berries are a source of a huge amount of various nutrients and vitamins necessary for human health. One of them is chokeberry, not the most famous, but extremely useful.

Ripening terms

Unlike its other relatives, chokeberry, also known in science as chokeberry, ripens in autumn. It has been scientifically established that the main ripening period is the end of September or the beginning of October. Despite the fact that the berries get their dark color at the end of summer, the maximum benefit from them can only be obtained in the fall.

The main sign that the chokeberry has ripened and become suitable for consumption and harvesting is the dark ruby juice secreted by the berry when lightly pressed on it.

Most often, this level of ripeness is observed after the first frost has passed.

Berry composition

Aronia contains an unusually large amount of a substance called rutin. The content of this substance in chokeberry is twice as high as in currant fruits.

Its main benefit is that its use stops the aging process of the body.

In addition to vitamin P, which enters the human body only through the alimentary route (i.e., with food), chokeberry is rich in the following substances:

B vitamins: B1, B2, B6.
Vitamins C, E, K.
Micro and macro elements, including iron, iodine, manganese, boron, copper, etc.
Glucose, sucrose, fructose.
Substances of tannin and pectin groups.
Folic and nicotinic acids.

This composition suggests that chokeberry is indeed an extremely useful berry. And the time of its maturation makes it an excellent remedy for hypovitaminosis.

Impact on the body

The benefits of each product are measured by the effect it has on the human body. In this regard, chokeberry, or black, mountain ash can safely take a leading position, overtaking numerous varieties of many other crops.

You can use chokeberry to improve your health:

Normalization of blood cholesterol levels.
Removal of toxins from the intestines in a natural way.
Fight against hypertension.
Providing a therapeutic effect on the body in atherosclerosis.
Strengthening effect on the walls of blood vessels.
Strengthening immunity.
Treatment of radiation sickness.
Therapy of pathogenic processes that affect the thyroid gland.
Treatment of Graves' disease and thyrotoxicosis.
Increasing the level of stomach acid.
Treatment of problems associated with the processes of blood clotting.
Excretion from the body of substances with radioactive effects and substances from the group of heavy metals.
Combating the development of pathogenic processes from the oncological group.
Regulation of the processes of the digestive tract.
Activation of the liver.
Reduced emotional instability.
Regulation of brain processes responsible for the state of inhibition and excitation.

The healing effect of chokeberry on the body is due to various substances that are part of the chokeberry.

The correct use of this product contributes to the complete recovery of the body without complex medical intervention and serious consequences.

Berry suitability

It is worth remembering that a properly selected chokeberry will fully reveal its taste and healing properties. Therefore, the choice of product should be given special attention.

When choosing berries, first of all pay attention to their appearance. Damaged, shriveled or slightly rotten berries are not suitable for eating. The size of the fruit should not be too small, and the surface should be shiny. And also it is worth paying attention to the rigidity of the fruit. The most suitable berries should not be completely firm and respond to light finger pressure.

Chokeberries are harvested or bought after the first frost has passed. During this period, all the richness of her taste is fully revealed.

Benefit for health

In order to get the maximum benefit from the product, it is important not only to choose it correctly, but also to eat it correctly. Aronia is no exception to the rule.

While the season lasts, it is worth eating fresh rowan. Thus, a person fills his body with vitamins for the winter period. It is also possible to use these extremely healthy black berries in the form of mousses or juices.

There is an opportunity to prepare chokeberry for future use. To preserve the fruits of chokeberry for the winter without losing its medicinal properties, it is best to dry them. Do not freeze: frost destroys valuable tannins.

Popular Recipes

There are various ways to prepare rowan berries. The recipes are quite simple, and the resulting beneficial effect has a strengthening effect on the body and makes health stronger.

Rowan mousse

It is very simple to prepare mousse from chokeberry. To do this, follow these steps:

Grind the fruits in a food processor or crush with a pusher.
Add a small amount of natural yogurt and any berries or fruits (banana, strawberries, etc.).
Shake the resulting mixture.

This mousse is not only healthy, but also extremely tasty. As an additive, you can use any fruit or berries, depending on the desire of the person. For the preparation of mousse, you can use fruits not only freshly picked or purchased, but also those that were previously frozen.

Decoction of general strengthening action

Another easy-to-prepare and extremely healthy drink made from chokeberry. Its regular use allows you to strengthen your overall health and feel the beneficial properties of these unusual fruits, donated by nature in the autumn.

The decoction is prepared as follows:

200 g of dried berries pour 200 ml of boiling water;
cook on very low heat for 10 minutes;
insist 20 minutes;
squeeze the fruits and strain the broth.

Use this decoction three times a day, taking 0.5 cups. Due to its simplicity, this recipe is the most widely used and famous.

Jam

When consuming jam, it is worth understanding that at this moment an additional amount of carbohydrates enters the body. However, you can get the most out of this, if you do not show excessive zeal, everything is good in moderation. In winter, drinking tea with chokeberry jam will improve your health and allow you to have a good time.

This jam is prepared as follows:

Blanch 700 grams of fruit in water brought to a boil for no more than 5 minutes.
Mix 2.5 cups of the water used earlier with one cup of sugar and boil the syrup.
Add prepared chokeberry and other berries or fruits (raspberries, plums, apples or crushed orange peels) to the boiled syrup.
Bring the mixture to a boil, remove from heat and infuse for 8 hours.
Repeat the boiling and infusion procedure.
Boil again, cook over low heat for 15 minutes.
Distribute the finished product into jars and roll up in the standard way.

The use of other fruits and berries will soften the slightly tart taste of chokeberry and complement the range of beneficial effects.

This jam is the perfect combination of taste and health benefits.

Tinctures

Alcohol tinctures based on chokeberry is another direction in which you can use the full range of useful substances hidden in these black berries. Adding infusions to tea will achieve a tonic effect and help keep you warm on a cold winter day.

Tincture with cloves

One of the most famous recipes. The tandem of chokeberry and cloves gives the tincture a rather original taste and aroma, without reducing the beneficial properties of the fruit.

It is prepared as follows:

Finely chop 1 kg of berries using a wooden pusher.
Add 0.5 kg of sugar and 3 cloves to the fruits, mix thoroughly.
Close the jar with the mixture with a gauze cloth and insist for several days at room temperature.
After that, pour 1 liter of alcohol into the mixture, and close the jar with a plastic lid.
Store a jar of tincture in a dark place for two months.
Distribute the tincture into containers, after filtering.

This tincture is stored in a cool place. It is recommended to use it for adults, adding a small amount to tea.

Tincture with honey and oak bark

Blackberry-based tincture can be prepared not only with spices. The second well-known recipe involves adding oak bark and honey to rowan fruits.

The algorithm for preparing such a tonic is as follows:

Pour 2.5 cups of berries into a jar, after washing them.
Add 3 tablespoons of honey and a pinch of washed oak bark.
Pour all 1 liter of vodka.
Leave the jar in a dark place for 4-5 months.

During this time, the jar is sometimes taken out of storage, its contents are shaken, and then put back. After the set time has elapsed, the tincture is filtered through several layers of gauze and bottled. In this form, the tincture is ready for use.

Medicinal properties

The healing properties of chokeberry can improve health in the following diseases:

Hypertension. Thanks to the diuretic effect of chokeberry, blood pressure decreases.

Inflammatory processes in the body. Aronia contains anthocyanins that can help with infectious diseases of bacterial etiology.

Atherosclerosis. The flavonoids and vitamins C, E and A contained in chokeberry strengthen the walls of blood vessels.
hypoacid gastritis. Aronia fruits increase the acidity of gastric juice.
Nervousness and sleep disturbances. Aronia berries act as a natural sedative, reduce excitability.
Diarrhea. Chokeberry normalizes digestion in case of indigestion, because tannins have an astringent effect.
Toxicosis of pregnant women. The hepatoprotective effect of chokeberry fruits alleviates the state of toxicosis and helps to cope with nausea.
Eye diseases. Vitamin A, which is part of the chokeberry, normalizes many processes. The berry is especially useful for "senile eyes". It reduces the risk of glaucoma and cataracts.

Contraindications

The benefits of chokeberry are obvious, but there are also contraindications:

thrombosis;
peptic ulcer of the stomach and intestines;
colitis, constipation;
hyperacid gastritis;
hypotension.

Before using chokeberry, consult your doctor. This will allow you to get the maximum benefit and prevent the aggravation of existing diseases and problems.

Storage methods

As mentioned earlier, the fruits of this plant can be harvested for future use in the winter. This can be done in several ways.

Method 1

Freezing berries. Frozen fruits can be used in the preparation of jams or mousses. And you can also defrost some berries and eat them. It should be borne in mind that with this method of storage, a certain amount of vitamin P is lost, but most of all the beneficial properties are preserved.

Method 2

Drying. With this preparation, all the benefits of the berries are preserved. For proper drying, you can not separate the fruits from the shield, but hang them with it on a rope or wire. Such tapes are placed in a dry place, where it is often cool. In this form, the chokeberry is stored during frosts. With this method, all the beneficial properties of berries are preserved.

Method 3

You can store the fruits of this culture in dried form. In order to wither the chokeberry, the washed and dried fruits are placed on trays or surfaces with a fine grid and left in the sun or in the open air.

Method 4

Another way to dry is to use the oven. The fruits are laid out on a baking sheet and dried at a temperature of 40 degrees for 20-30 minutes.

After that, the temperature is raised to 60 degrees and the berries are left in the oven for another 5-10 minutes.

You need to increase the temperature only when the juice ceases to stand out from the berries. As a result of drying, the fruits should not lose their color. The preserved color of the berries indicates that the beneficial properties of the chokeberry were not lost as a result of heat treatment.

Conclusion

Chokeberry, or chokeberry, is an unusually useful plant. The use of its fruits can help in solving many health problems and maintain the overall tone of the body. Proper storage and use of this product helps a person cope with many diseases.

Chokeberry berries are used to make homemade wine and liqueurs, they are dried for the winter for medicinal purposes, jams, compotes and jams are prepared. But all this requires berries of different ripeness, so it is important to know under what conditions and when to collect chokeberry.

Aronia or chokeberry is not only an ornamental shrub of our gardens and plots. Closer to autumn, a crop of berries begins to ripen on it, which, if not removed, can remain on the branches until spring. This is where the question arises: at what time are the berries considered ripe, and at what time should they be removed?

By autumn, the harvest of berries begins to ripen on it.

Precise recommendations on the timing of harvesting depend on the purpose of the harvested berries and the purpose of their use. Chokeberry does not have a delicious aroma or appetizing taste, but this berry is very useful and even medicinal. It is effectively used in cooking when preparing desserts and pastries, is added to sauces, is part of fruit juices and jams.

Slightly tart taste of rowan fruits brings exquisite notes to many dishes and drinks. In addition, chokeberry is a recognized drug in folk and traditional medicine. It has anti-inflammatory, choleretic and diuretic effects, reduces allergic symptoms, and helps with high blood pressure. Its use helps to remove radionuclides and heavy metals from the body. And in order to take full advantage of these taste and medicinal properties, you need to harvest the crop in time and use it correctly.

Advice! for picking berries, only enameled, glass or plastic dishes are used, since containers made of galvanized steel or aluminum adversely affect the taste of the fruit.

To pick berries, use only enameled, glass or plastic dishes.

This method of harvesting is much more productive than if you pick each berry separately.

The chokeberry is harvested as follows - the umbrella inflorescences are cut with a secateurs or scissors with a whole branch, and then, if necessary, the berries are separated from the stalks (they can not be sorted out if the raw materials are prepared for wine). This method of harvesting is much more productive than if you pick each berry separately. In addition, a tree freed from brushes recovers faster, and berries missed during normal harvesting and left over for the winter can become a breeding ground for infections in the spring. The harvested crop must immediately be put into processing in order to preserve the maximum of useful substances.

One-component jams and compotes are prepared from chokeberry or included in fruit and berry platter. Berries begin to fill with color already in August, but their taste is very tart and astringent. Ripening continues until the end of September, and by this time the fruits become much juicier and sweeter, but still astringency is still present in them. If berries are planned to be added to give color, for example, to apple or pear compotes, then they can be harvested in early autumn without waiting for full ripening. A handful of dense, black rowan berries will decorate bright zucchini or melon jam and give them a special piquant taste.

Aronia jam

Apple and chokeberry compote

If one-component chokeberry preparations are planned, then it is worth delaying the harvest and leaving it until the first frost. In the middle lane, this period falls on October, when a night drop in temperature will soften the taste of the berries, make them still juicy, sweet and astringency will almost go away. It is worth trying a few berries to decide whether it is already suitable for preparations or you can still leave them to “ripen” in the freezer.

Here is one of the recipes for healthy, fragrant and vitamin blackberry and lemon jam.

Ingredients:

sorted aronia berries - 1 kg;
sugar - 1.2 kg;
lemon - 2 pcs;
water - 0.5 l.

Bring water to a boil, add a glass of sugar. After boiling, add a glass of berries, as soon as it boils again - again a glass of sugar and so on until everything is over. At the end, pour the chopped lemon, cut into cubes with the peel and boil everything, stirring, for another five minutes. The finished jam is laid out in sterile jars, hermetically distributed in syrup, corked and left upside down until completely cooled. The advantage of this cooking method is that the consistency of the resulting jam will be homogeneous.

After adding the lemon, boil everything, stirring, for another five minutes

Collection of chokeberry for drying and for liqueurs

Properly dried rowan berries are stored for a long time at room conditions. They are used as a remedy for daily consumption, as well as in winter for preparing various drinks or as a filling for pies.

Dried chokeberry (chokeberry)

In winter, dried berries are used to make various drinks.

Dried rowan berries are used as a filling for pies.

For drying, only well-ripened fruits are taken, preferably after frost, so that the berries lose their astringency and become sweet. They dry the rowan in the sun, in the oven, in a special dryer and even in the microwave. It doesn’t matter which method to choose, but the main thing in this process is a low temperature so that the berries do not bake, but dry out gradually, retaining all the useful substances.

By the end of October, when the berries become juicy and soft, you can start collecting raw materials for making homemade wine. Experienced housewives recommend harvesting after rain, which not only washes away dust and debris, but also knocks down bad berries - dry or spoiled. Don't wait for a noticeable drop in autumn temperatures. Frozen fruits are not suitable for wine, because they initially contain a lot of tannins that prevent fermentation, and freezing further reduces the activity of these processes.

Due to its wide distribution, mountain ash is perceived by many as a low-value and not very useful berry. Meanwhile, its unsurpassed healing properties were well known to our ancestors, who paid great attention to the harvesting of this berry. Today we will learn some simple recipes.

Magicians and sorcerers have used mountain ash for various rituals since ancient times. Rowan groves were considered a sacred place, and damage to them seemed unthinkable blasphemy. Witches used mountain ash to cure many ailments, and housewives did not miss the opportunity to pamper their household with a variety of delicacies prepared from this berry.

How to collect rowan?

There are two stages of collection - consumer and prefabricated. The collection stage begins in September, when the berries acquire the color and size characteristic of the variety. Not exposed to cold, they have low taste (the fruits are quite bitter), but they are great for long-term fresh storage (rowan shields are hung in a cool room). The consumer stage begins in November, after the first frosts. By this time, the bitterness is mostly gone, and the berries acquire a pleasant sweetish taste. Rowan during this period of time is very easily separated from the stalks and becomes more juicy. Unfortunately, the berries collected at this time cannot be stored fresh - they quickly lose juice and deteriorate. But various blanks from frozen mountain ash can be made.

In the process of picking berries, they try to protect them from mechanical damage. During the collection period, the mountain ash is plucked along with shields on which the berries are located (with the exception of chokeberry), but in November, the most justified is the collection of the berries themselves (they are easily separated from the mother plant and crumble).

Rowan is harvested in dry weather, preferably in the morning (at this time the berries are most valuable). Harvest is stacked in shallow baskets and boxes.

dried rowan

The rowan is sorted out, washed, allowed to dry, laid out on baking sheets in one layer and placed in an oven heated to a temperature of 70-75º C (some housewives reduce the drying temperature to 40-60 º C). The mountain ash is gently mixed and the process is completed at the moment when the berries stop sticking together when squeezed in the palm of your hand. Dry berries are often used to make flour, adding it to various dishes and pastries.

Dried rowan

For syrup:

Sugar - 400 g
Water - 350 ml

For this harvesting method, berries that have been exposed to cold are most suitable. They are poured with boiling water for 3-4 minutes, after which soaked in cold water for 12 hours (changing it several times). The dried berries are sprinkled with sugar (250 g), kept at room temperature for 20 hours, the resulting juice is drained and add sugar again(250 g). After 20 hours, the juice is drained, and the berries are poured hot sugar syrup, heated to 85 º C and left on fire for exactly 7 minutes. The cooled mass is filtered, the berries are placed on a baking sheet and dried at a temperature of 65-70 ° C (twice for 25-30 minutes). The cooled berries are laid out in a sieve and dried for about six hours at a temperature of 30 ° C. The finished product is stored in a glass container.

frozen rowan

The mountain ash is washed, allowed to dry from moisture, placed in containers or bags, closed (soldered, tied) and frozen. After freezing, the taste of berries improves markedly, and the amount of carotene even slightly increases.

rowan juice

Sugar - 500 g
Water - 1 l
Rowan - 1 kg

Pure berries are poured with water, boiled until softened, rubbed through a sieve, sugar is added, boiled and poured into jars. The finished product is corked and wrapped for self-sterilization.

Rowan jam

Sugar - 1.5 kg
Water - 2 tbsp.
Rowan - 1 kg

The sorted and thoroughly washed berries are laid out in chilled syrup, let stand 24 hours, after which they are filtered. The syrup is brought to a boil, the berries are again lowered into it and boiled until fully cooked. Jam is laid out in jars and corked.

Pastila from rowan

Sugar - 2 kg
Powdered sugar - 2 tbsp.
Rowan - 1 kg

Berries are boiled for 10 minutes, strain and grind through a sieve. Sugar is added to the puree, mixed well, boiled to the consistency of thick sour cream and spread on greased with vegetable oil. wooden planks. dried in the sun or in the oven, cut, sprinkled with powdered sugar and stored in a cardboard box.

Rowan jam

Sugar - 500 g
Water - 1 tbsp.
Rowan - 1 kg

Pure rowan berries are boiled in a small amount of water, wiped and boiled with sugar to density. The finished product is laid out in prepared jars and rolled up.

soaked mountain ash

Sugar - 1 tbsp.
Water - 1 l
Salt - 5 g
Cinnamon - 1 g
Cloves - 0.5 g

Prepared rowan berries are laid out in an enameled dish (bucket, jar, tub), poured with boiled and chilled filling and left for 2-3 days at room temperature for fermentation (some add apples cut in half and freed from the seed box to the rowan). The finished product is stored in the cellar and served with vegetable, cereal and meat dishes.

Marinated rowan

Sugar - 1 kg
Water - 1.5 l
Vinegar 9% (based on 1 jar) - 25 ml

Rowan berries are blanched in boiling water for a couple of minutes, placed in jars, poured with syrup, vinegar and any spices are added. Pickled mountain ash must be pasteurized (0.5 and 1 l - 20 and 25 minutes, respectively).

Rowan tincture

Vodka - 2 l
Rowan - 1 kg
Sugar - to taste

The rowan is put into a bottle, poured with vodka, allowed to stand for 3 months in a warm room or in the sun. After that, the tincture is filtered, diluted with syrup, poured into bottles and tightly closed with corks.

Not everyone likes the taste of fresh rowan, but preparations with the participation of this berry are always popular. We hope you enjoy them too.

In order for chokeberry to be stored for as long as possible, you need to know when to harvest it. Conventionally, the collection of chokeberry can be divided into prefabricated and consumer. The first stage of maturity occurs in late August-early September. By this time, the berries reach the desired size, color, taste, and are also quite easily separated from the branches. Berries picked in August taste tart and astringent. At the end of September, these flavors become less concentrated. A slight sweetness appears, and astringency fades into the background. Rowan during this period is ideal for long-term storage, as well as a secondary ingredient in fruit compotes. To determine the right degree of maturity, just taste a couple of berries.

chokeberry

However, chokeberry acquires the most pleasant taste after the onset of the first frost, mainly at the end of October. It is at this time that the berry reaches full maturity, becomes softer and even easier to separate from the branches. Such rowan is attributed to the consumer group. From it you can prepare juices, jams and, that is, one-component blanks. It is not suitable for storage. The berries collected with the onset of the first frosts are already so ripe that they begin to actively secrete juice. Even at low storage temperatures, rowan juice will begin to ferment, and the fruits themselves will deteriorate.

For the convenience of harvesting chokeberry, use special garden tools - secateurs or scissors. They allow one movement to separate the inflorescences. Depending on the purpose of further use, the berries can be separated from the inflorescences or left intact if they are raw materials for wine or liquor. The use of garden tools allows you to harvest more productively, saving time and effort. However, it is necessary to work with secateurs as carefully as possible so as not to damage the berries. Cutting the brushes with a garden tool helps the shrub recover faster, and also reduces the risk of infection accumulation.

chernopChokeberry berries

It is recommended to collect chokeberry in the morning in dry, calm weather. As a collection container, use wicker baskets or low boxes, laying the berries loosely so that they do not change. The best container for collecting small batches will be glass, enamel or plastic dishes. But as for dishes made of galvanized steel and aluminum, it is not recommended to use it. Such material can give an unpleasant metallic taste and spoil the taste of mountain ash. It is undesirable to take deep boxes. With a heavy load of the upper tier, the lower berries are deformed and secrete juice, which negatively affects not only consumer qualities, but also shelf life. Containers up to 8 kg will be optimal.

It does not differ in expressive sweet taste or aroma. Raw, it is quite tart, so it is eaten mainly in processed form. It is suitable as a filling for pie and desserts, and is also the basis for making berry sauce, juices, jams and marmalades. The tart taste of mountain ash is in perfect harmony with tea, as well as refreshing drinks. At the end of October, you can make homemade liqueur from ripe and sweet berries. Experts recommend picking such berries after rain, during which dry and spoiled ones will fall off, and only high-quality chokeberry will remain on the bush. Do not wait for severe frosts. A frozen berry will become unsuitable for wine.

Aronia tincture

In addition, such mountain ash will contain a minimum amount of tannins involved in the fermentation process, which is especially important when preparing this alcoholic beverage. However, this berry can more be attributed to the category of medicinal crops, which is actively used in traditional medicine. Thanks to a storehouse of vitamins, it simultaneously has anti-inflammatory, diuretic and choleretic effects, helps to cope with allergies and lower high blood pressure. In addition, chokeberry helps to remove accumulated toxins and radionuclides from the body, cleansing the intestines and the entire digestive system as a whole.

The best option for long-term storage of chokeberry is drying. From dried aronia, you can prepare both medicinal infusions and various drinks. We choose high-quality ripened berries for drying, preferably those that were collected after the onset of the first frost. They are less tart and sweet. We carry out drying in any way available to you, observing several important rules. The first option is drying in the sun. To do this, we carefully sort the berries, lay them out in an even layer on a newspaper and lightly dry them in the open air.

Frozen aronia berries

Do not leave the mountain ash in the scorching sun, prepare a canopy for it or perform this procedure indoors, not forgetting about ventilation. With good ventilation and high air temperature, dried berries will be ready in 3-7 days.

This procedure can be performed in the oven, electric dryer or microwave. Regardless of the technique you choose, you should remember one important rule - compliance with the minimum heating temperature. This is necessary to maximize the preservation of nutrients and the appearance of the berries. Scatter the chokeberry in a thin layer and set the temperature to 60-70 degrees. At the end of drying, we remove all blackened and faded berries.

Do not rush to take the berries out of the oven or dryer. In case of haste and insufficient drying, chokeberry can deteriorate and become moldy during storage. However, do not dry the berries too much. If this does happen, leave them at room temperature for 1-2 days. For storage, we select a well-ventilated container or material. A cardboard box or a canvas bag is ideal, however, as well as an ordinary glass jar with a nylon lid. The storage place should be dry, slightly cool and protected from direct sunlight. Subject to all norms and rules, dried mountain ash can be stored for about 2 years.

Chokeberries can also be frozen. In such a berry, a smaller amount of useful substances is stored, which decrease more and more with its repeated thawing and freezing. For storage in the freezer, we carefully sort out the chokeberry and pack it in plastic bags or plastic containers. Frozen berries are stored for a long time, but if you notice spoiled or moldy berries in the bag, they must be sorted out and the rest immediately processed. When chilled, chokeberry can retain its original appearance and taste for up to a month.