All berries are he althy. What do you know about cherry? Its fruits are a little exotic for many, despite the fact that this large shrub is quite common in our country. And the fruits of ordinary (black) or red bird cherry are useful for many diseases, and this is just an excellent ingredient for various culinary recipes. We invite you to get to know bird cherry berries better: how they look, what they taste like, what they are used for.
Bird cherry fruit
Small dark cherry berries (photo below) ripen in early August. Collecting them is quite easy by hand. It is best to choose dry weather for this and evening or morning time.
Harvested berries should be processed within four hours of picking. Store them in a cool and dry place. Can be frozen in the freezer, in a special container. The shelf life of berries is three to five years.
Cherry berries (photos show them clearly) are quite sweet. Although not quite ripe fruits will be a little tart. Therefore, it is recommended to consume already fully ripe berries.
What is it used for?
Bird cherry berries are rarely used inunprocessed raw form. They are subjected to various processing, resulting in:
- cherry cherry jam, which can be eaten with tea;
- dried berries, which are then used for cooking compotes;
- decoction or compote;
- flour made from dried berries, which can then be added to the dough or even make stuffing for pies, cookies, cakes and so on;
- healing infusions used for medical purposes.
What do berries contain?
Bird cherry (berries) is a unique product in its composition. The list of elements and substances contained in bird cherry fruits is presented in the table.
| Composition | Amount in one hundred grams of berries |
| Fat | - |
| Proteins | 8, 44g |
| Carbohydrates | 16, 87g |
| Vitamin C | 200mg |
| Potassium | 13, 40mg |
| Calcium | 2, 2mg |
| Magnesium | 22 g |
| Iron | 0.04mg |
| Manganese | 1, 2 mcg |
| Copper | 25g |
| Cob alt | 7 mcg |
| Chrome | 0, 28 mcg |
| Aluminum | 27, 40 mcg |
| Selenium | 0.05 mcg |
| Nickel | 3.08 mcg |
| Strontium | 0.8 mcg |
| Zinc | 15, 6g |
| Lead | 1, 8 mcg |
| Iodine | 0, 42mg |
Also, cherry fruits contain:
- citric acid;
- malic acid;
- almond butter;
- glycosides;
- provitamin A;
- tannins (up to fifteen percent).
The energy value of one hundred grams of bird cherry berries is one hundred calories.
Berry bird cherry: useful properties
Bird cherry fruits, due to their healing properties, are widely used in folk medicine. The bark, flowers and fruits of bird cherry have a therapeutic effect. Flowers are harvested in May and dried. The fruits are also dried. This helps to use their healing properties for a long period.
Decoction of bird cherry helps:
- for problems with the gastrointestinal tract (indigestion, diarrhea);
- to increase male potency;
- for toothaches.
Bird cherry also helps to normalize metabolism. For these purposes, it is better to take not berries, but flowers brewed with boiling water. Proportions: 1 to 1. You need to insist thirty minutes.
The bird cherry berries are also used to treat other diseases:
- rheumatism;
- colds;
- fever;
- gout;
- conjunctivitis (wash eyes with infusion);
- stomatitis and gingivitis (rinse the mouth with infusion);
- angina (gargle with infusion);
- for various colds, red bird cherry berries are more often used;
- ulcers, wounds that fester and become inflamed (apply berry juice).
Eating bird cherry and products from it (for example, jam) will help you strengthen the walls of blood vessels, get rid of nervous tension, and calm the nervous system.
And women can make face masks from bird cherry flour. They help tone and refresh the skin.
Medicinal and cooking recipes from bird cherry berries
Tincture for dysentery:
- one tablespoon of dried berries is poured with one glass of boiled water;
- everything is put on fire for five to ten minutes;
- set the mixture in a dark place for two hours.
Eat half a glass thirty minutes before meals.
Tincture for disorders of the gastrointestinal tract and to restore potency:
- cherry (berries) - one and a half kilograms;
- boiled water - one glass.
Mix everything and put in a dark place for twenty minutes to infuse the broth. After this, the infusion can be drunk two tablespoons threefour times a day.
Bird cherry jelly: Boil one glass of berries in four glasses of water along with two tablespoons of sugar and one starch.
Bird cherry jam:
- first recipe: berries are poured with sugar, based on the proportions of 1 to 1, and set aside for twelve hours, after which the juice is drained, boiled, poured back into the berries, which are then boiled until fully cooked;
- second recipe: sugar syrup is made (one and a half kilograms of sugar and one or two glasses of water), then they are poured with bird cherry berries (one kilogram), the mixture is cooked until fully cooked.
Cake of bird cherry:
- grind bird cherry fruits (you need one full glass of bird cherry flour);
- the resulting flour is diluted in one glass of warm milk;
- the mixture is infused for three to four hours;
- one egg is ground with one glass of sugar, after which a teaspoon of soda and a mixture of milk and bird cherry flour are added;
- knead the dough and bake in the oven for thirty minutes;
- when ready, take the cake out of the oven; the cooled cake can be cut and smeared with sour cream, butter or other cream.
Contraindications
With all its beneficial properties and a fairly wide list of diseases for the treatment and prevention of which fruits are used, bird cherry is contraindicated in women who are carrying or breastfeeding a child, and also have problems conceiving.
AlsoExcessive consumption of berries and products from them can cause severe poisoning of the body. Infusions and decoctions of berries, which are stored for quite a long time, can also harm he alth. Reducing the amount of bird cherry consumption to a minimum is also recommended for people prone to allergic reactions.
Such precautions are due to the fact that the seeds of bird cherry berries contain hydrocyanic acid, which is harmful to the human body (the result of the breakdown of a substance called amygdalin). Therefore, do not abuse the fruits of bird cherry and products containing it.
We wish you good he alth!
