By themselves, Aronia berries are extremely acidic. They are certainly not a berry that most people want to just pop into their mouths. Typically, sweeteners are used to produce a good flavor and sweet-and-sour combination.
The best sweetener to use is stevia, not sugar. From a health standpoint, sugar is your enemy. Stevia is an all-natural alternative to sugar and artificial sweeteners. When it comes to Aronia berry products, choose 100 percent or mixed with other juices like apple juice with no added sugar. By using stevia as a sweetener, you produce a healthy product that even people with diabetes find useful and healing. Using stevia will limit calories that would otherwise come from using sugar.
The big question is: Are Aronia berries good for health? The answer is, without a doubt, definitely YES. They are the new super berries that are gaining popularity because they have more antioxidants than any other fruit grown in North America. They have many health benefits. The Aronia fruit is a great source of vitamin C and antioxidants. It also has properties that may protect cholesterol levels, heart disease, kidney stones, gum disease, bone health, blood clots, cancer, and stomach ulcers.
An important benefit of Aronia fruit, like cranberries, is that they protect against bacteria that cause bladder and urinary tract infections. Since they have many health benefits, include them in your diet and enjoy the multiple benefits of this fruit. However, be careful if they are sweetened with sugar instead of stevia. Sugar is your enemy when it comes to your health. Eliminating refined sugar from your diet is one of the best things you can do for your health.
- Introduction
Aronia fruit products that you can enjoy:
- Juice: Use 100 percent aronia fruit juice or aronia berry juice mixed with another juice, such as apple juice or some other fruit. Results of some studies suggest that you take about 1/4 cup of 100% unsweetened aronia juice three times a day to help lower blood pressure and help lower blood sugar levels for patients with diabetes.
- Make your own juice. – Fresh Aronia juice can be easily made from Aronia fruit. If the fruit is not chewed in a juicer, juice made from fully ripe berries will have little astringency from the fruit. Using a cider press is the recommended method of making juice. The fruit should be frozen before juicing to produce more liquid and reduce the astringency of the juice. It takes about 16 pounds of fruit to produce 1 gallon of juice. The juice should be sweetened with stevia, not sugar. From a health standpoint, sugar is your enemy. Its juice will ferment into an Aronia hard cider within a week if not frozen or canned immediately after making. The juice is often mixed with apple or another fruit to enhance the flavor. Freeze your juice concentrate in small freezer-safe containers. Or seal in processed pint jars in a water bath canner for 10 minutes.
- Use aronia berries in main dishes – Aronia berries can be added to your salads, yogurt, cereal, or any main dish. Aroniarisins (dried aronia berries) can be used in trail mix.
- Aronia Fruit Jelly – Make your own healthy aronia berry jelly and jam. Again, be sure to control the sweetener by using stevia, not sugar. One type of pectin, low methoxyl pectin, is required to thicken jams and jellies with little or no sugar. This pectin allows you to create jams and jellies sweetened with stevia. Use Pomona pectin, not regular pectin. Pomona pectin has been found to gel well with stevia.
- Sauces- Make your own sauces like Aronia Berry Sauce and Aronia Berry BBQ sauce. When using Aronia berries for sauces on meat and fish.
- Baked Goods: Bake fresh or frozen aronia berries into your homemade baked goods using stevia instead of sugar. Also use coconut oil or real butter, not margarine, in your products.