How to tell when aronia berries are ripe!

There they hang – beautiful, plump, dark aronia berries on your own aronia bush. Any hobby gardener’s heart will warm at the sight. As a rule, aronia berries reach harvest ripeness from late August to early September. But are your berries already ripe? Today, we have some tips from our aronia experts!

How can I tell if aronia berries are ripe?

Appearance

Ripe aronia berries have a smooth, glossy, almost black surface. However, as early as the beginning of August, some berries may turn black. This alone is not yet a harvest criterion.

Also look for a reddish coloration in the stems.

Taste

Fully ripe berries have developed their full aroma. Even when ripe, the taste is slightly bitter and astringent, followed by a fruity, sweet-sour note.

You can measure the sugar content in the berries using a refractometer. To do this, drip some fruit juice onto the measuring surface. A Brix value of 18% or higher is considered ripe for harvest.

How to tell if aronia berries are ripe:

Tip: If the aronia berries taste good to the birds, they are ripe. ;) To ensure some are left for your aronia harvest, many gardeners use bird protection nets.

Try the knife test!

A great trick to quickly and easily check if your homegrown aronia berries are ripe: Take 3-4 ripe berries from different clusters of the aronia plant and cut them in half with a sharp knife. If the flesh inside is dark red all the way to the core, this is a good sign that your aronia berries are ripe.

Watch the video now: How to tell when aronia berries are ripe!