Among the delights of late summer are fresh berries, wild and cultivated. There’s a huge array of them out there; bearberry, soapberry, buffaloberry, bilberry, currants, mulberries, blackberries, longans, rambutans and more. The cultivated sorts are more familiar to most people, including rambutans, blueberries, strawberries and huckleberries. The great news is that all of these sweet delights are high in fiber, vitamin C, manganese, bioflavonoids and the anti-cancer compound ellagic acid. Oh, and they have great flavor and color too.
Raspberries have been cultivated for more than 2000 years and are found on every continnet from mid-July through autumn. They usually come in shades of red, but they’re also available in black, purple, yellow orange and even white. When picked, raspberries leave the stems and receptacles behind, so these hollow berries are very fragile. This means that getting them in a package of some sort or, better yet, straight from the farmer or backyard guarantees they will still be intact as well as fresh when you want to eat them.
Raspberry leaves improve uterine muscle tone in females, and are believed to help to relieve menstrual cramps. Manganese is important for fat metabolism, healthy nerves and immune system, blood sugar regulation and breast milk production. The fruit also supplies a B vitamin, folic acid, for healthy red blood cell production, and niacin and riboflavin to boot.
Blackberries are closely related to raspberries but are more perishable. When picked in early July, they tend to be quite tart, changing to sweet as it ripens. They’re best used to day they’re picked, and taste great in jams, pies ad cobblers. The humble blackberry is high in folic acid, potassium and magneiusm. Great for diarrhea and hemorrhoids, and a great blood cleanser.
Factoids:
The powdery gloss on blueberries is actually a natural protective coating.
A 3.5 ounce or 95 mL serving contains 13 mg of vitamin C and 89 mg of potassium. Look for firm berries, uniform in size with a deep indigo blue and silvery frost. Don’t wash until ready to use.
Blueberries are more frequently found in supermarkets than raspberries or blackberries due to their ease of transport, flavor and high yield per blueberry bush. The range of varieties means that blueberry harvests can start in June and continue through late August.
The plants continue to bear fruit for up to 40 years, and will produce berries for up to three weeks each year. Blueberries are a great source of vitamin A, iron and manganese. They have a slight laxative effect due to their high fiber content, and are useful in countering urinary tract infections. They also have a documented positive effect on night vision and other eye functions. Eaten fresh, blueberries will help heal mouth infections.
Huckleberries are often confused with blueberries. They’re either blue or red and are found growing in the wild. The huckleberry is one of the oldest living plants on earth; one plant in Pennsylvania covers several square miles and is estimated to be over 13000 years old!
Strawberries have the largest global harvest of all the berries. They’re easy to grow, and have the highest vitamin C and ellagic acid of all the berries. Wild strawberries have a sweet flavor unlike any other berry. It takes time and patience to gather more than a handful since they’re usually less than one centimeter in diameter! They’re usually found in wooded areas, so they great subjects make great fruit-treasure hunting expeditions.
Most berries are fragile, and strawberries are prone to bruising if allowed to become overly ripe before eating. All berries freeze well; just lay them in a flat tray on a baking sheet and place in the freezer in one flat layer to prevent clumping. Then scoop them into an empty milk carton container or Ziplock bag for future use-blueberries will keep from 10 months to 1 year.
Tags: anti-cancer, diarrhea, mouth infections, relieve menstrual cramps