What is chokeberry?
Do you know the aronia berry?
Do you care about your general wellbeing and that of your loved ones? Do you want simple, natural and vibrant food? Without frills, without long transportation routes from overseas and with high product quality?
We want all that too!
Our answer: the small dark purple aronia berry from European organic cultivation!
What do aronia berries actually taste like?
Whether fresh, dried or as juice – aronia berries have a tart and tangy taste. In addition to this, the intense, dark purple color is particularly striking. For example, if you dilute 100% aronia berry juice with water to make a spritzer, the liquid will still be a deep red color. Natural plant dyes, which belong to the group of polyphenols, are responsible for the coloration.
Have you already worked up an appetite and thirst from the description? You can buy aronia juice, dried aronia berries and other aronia products here.
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Organic Aronia mulled wine 9% vol. (0.75 l, one-way)
4,99 €Includes 19% Mwst.(6,65 € / 1 liter)Alk. 9 % vol -
Origin and history of the aronia berry
The aronia berry has been native to Eastern and Central Europe for over 100 years. It originated in eastern North America, on what is now the border between Canada and the USA. Wild aronia bushes thrive there on a wide variety of soils. The indigenous people who lived there already appreciated the small dark aronia berries and used them to prepare winter provisions, among other things.
Location
The aronia berry grows from North America via Europe to Siberia. As a frugal fruit plant, it is becoming increasingly popular in domestic gardens and as a plantation plant in Germany and throughout Central Europe. It grows both in the lowlands and in more mountainous regions. The sunnier the location, the more sweetness can be produced in the fruit.
Resilience
Aronia plants are relatively robust, frugal and resistant to disease. Winterproof down to -35°C. Waterlogging should be avoided.
Flowers and fruits
In May, the aronia bushes are in white blossom. Judging by the shape of the blossom, the relationship to the apple is unmistakable. From August, the small, dark purple aronia berries ripen on umbrellas and sometimes weigh heavily on the branches.
Caution: Birds and deer also love to snack on ripe aronia berries.
The long journey of the aronia berry to Central Europe
The aronia berry has been native to Eastern and Central Europe for over 100 years. It originated in eastern North America, on what is now the border between Canada and the USA. Wild aronia bushes thrive there on a wide variety of soils. The indigenous people who lived there already appreciated the small dark aronia berries and used them to prepare winter provisions, among other things.
The Russian botanist Ivan V. Michurin (1855-1935) made a great contribution to the aronia berry. He was already experimenting with chokeberries at the end of the 19th century. Inspired by the plant’s exceptional robustness against the harsh climatic conditions in Russia, he cultivated large-fruited varieties of chokeberry that promised high yields even in cold regions.
Soon afterwards, the first chokeberry-growing regions were established on the territory of the former Soviet Union. The aronia plant was also ideally suited for the private self-catering garden.
In the 1970s, the chokeberry finally reached the former GDR via Eastern Europe. At that time, the dark berries were initially used as a natural plant dye for the food industry. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the area under cultivation and interest in the dark, rather tart-tasting fruit declined.
It is also thanks to Aronia ORIGINAL that the aronia berry has been gaining importance and attention again since the mid-2000s. The small berry, which was once used purely for coloring purposes, has become a highly valued foodstuff in the form of aronia juice, dried fruit, powder and food supplements made from aronia berries, jams, fruit bars and other gourmet products.
There are now also larger cultivation areas in Germany, Poland, Austria, Italy and Switzerland. And demand continues to grow.
Ivan Vladimirovich Michurin was a Russian botanist and plant breeder who cultivated the chokeberry in Eastern Europe.
Names for the aronia berry in other languages
Aronia berries are very similar in appearance to the fruit of the mountain ash – perhaps this is why they are called “black mountain ash” in some regions. However, the two plant species are not related to each other. In fact, another name for the aronia berry, the so-called “black chokeberry“, gets to the heart of the relationship between the rose family: the apple is also known to belong to the rose family. If you cut open the aronia berry, the small core is visible – very similar to a small apple.
In addition to the term “chokeberry”, other languages also have their own names for the fruit:
- English: “Black chokeberry” (Black aronia berry)
- Dutch: “Appelbes”
- Bulgarian: “Chernoplodnaja skorusha”
- Polish: “Aronia czarna”
- Russian: “Ryabina chernoplodnaya”
- Finnish: “Aroniat”
- Lithuanian: “Aronija”
- Romanian: “Scorus cu fructe negre”
Use of chokeberry
Aronia berries add variety to the diet. Fresh berries can be cooked into “jam” (marmalade) or juice or dried. As a fresh addition to muesli, yoghurt, cakes or ice cream, they are a delight at harvest time (from August to September). Some pet owners (pigeon breeders, horse or dog lovers) also add aronia berries to their feed – usually in powder form or as dried berries.
We at Aronia ORIGINAL offer you a wide selection of foods made from the aronia berry and other dark fruits all year round. Whether pure or as an ingredient in smoothies, for baking or cooking – the aronia berry brings more than just color to your plate.
Try one of our aronia recipes!
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