Barberry seasoning. Dried barberry with photo, its composition and calorie content; beneficial properties, and also when it is not recommended to use berries; culinary application

Colors appear by early autumn. The rather pleasant taste of the berries of this plant allows you to prepare compotes and fruit drinks from them. Barberry berry extract is used in confectionery. It’s probably impossible to meet a person who doesn’t remember the taste of “barberries” from childhood. If the fruits are dried and crushed, you get a tasty seasoning that goes well with rice. These berries have many healing properties. Barberry is used in the treatment of a number of diseases, and also as an auxiliary substance for weight loss.

Composition of barberry

The healing properties of the plant are due to its chemical composition. Thus, berries are rich in vitamin C, carbohydrates, organic acids, beta-carotene, and alkaloids. They also contain macro- and microelements. As barberry berries ripen, the concentration changes significantly chemical substances. The longer the fruits are on the bush, the healthier they are. In September-October, after the first cold weather, the fructose content in them is maximum. It is at this time that it is customary to pick berries. Barberry is a very healthy berry, so those people who benefit from growing plants in their yard try to stock up on it for the winter and improve their well-being.

Valuable properties

The fruits of the plant have properties that allow them to be used not only in folk, but also in traditional medicine. Berries accelerate peristalsis, normalize digestion processes in the body, and have a choleretic effect. Barberry contains substances that help get rid of spastic pain. Another plant helps normalize arterial pressure, although its effect in this case is not so pronounced and may not be noticed against the background of hypertension. Tannins contained in barberry fruits help with constipation. Barberry drink helps lower body temperature and reduce fever. In addition to those listed above, berries also contain other components that have a positive effect on the body, but they are no less pronounced. Berries, leaves and bark of barberry are included in some preparations and tinctures.

Use in folk medicine

The berries of which leave no doubt are actively used in folk medicine. Barberry contains the alkaloid berberine, which is localized not in the fruit, but in other parts of the plant. This substance has an effective and powerful choleretic effect. The bark of the plant is used to prepare tinctures used in the treatment of liver and gall bladder diseases. Tinctures also help in the treatment of jaundice.

Barberry has an excellent hemostatic effect, which is why it is used for various types of bleeding. Berries help improve appetite. Traditional medicine recognizes the fruits of barberry as natural antibiotic, assistant for weakened immune system. Barberry berries infused in water relieve rheumatic pain. The minimal amount of sugar contained makes it beneficial for patients diabetes mellitus. Bright red berries are great for fighting colds and viral diseases. They help with bronchitis, sore throat, cough.

A decoction of the leaves helps with diseases of the pancreas and liver. It is also effective for inflammation, indigestion, stomach ulcers, dysentery, chronic diarrhea. A tincture of bark and leaves helps with pulmonary tuberculosis, pleurisy, and pneumonia. The decoction is used to rinse the mouth for gum disease. The decoction is used for douching to relieve female pain.

Berries in fresh have a characteristic sourness, so they are sometimes pickled with added sugar. By eating berries, you can improve your condition with hemorrhoids and ulcers duodenum and stomach. Berries have a positive effect on strengthening defense mechanisms body.

Barberry in weight loss

Almost all vegetables, fruits and berries are, to one degree or another, endowed with the properties of a fat burner and a weight loss aid. Among these berries was barberry. Several facts do indicate that barberry fruits are very suitable for consumption in dietary nutrition. The berry is used based on its low calorie content, because energy value The product per 100 grams is only 35 kcal. When losing weight, it is very important to establish metabolic processes, which this plant will also help with. Some caution in using the fruits will still be necessary, because by increasing the secretion of the digestive glands, they increase appetite. Sometimes goji berries and barberry berries are mistakenly placed in the same row. Customer reviews are filled with indignation about the popularity of the former and the underestimation of the latter.

Since all berries are filling and low in calories, barberry berries, in addition to having a beneficial effect on human health, can also help with weight loss. But to receive visible result Several recommendations must be followed. Firstly, you should not use berries for a “snack”, especially in cases where the next meal is still far away, and hunger is already quite noticeable. As nutrients Barberry berries are easily digestible carbohydrates that are consumed by the body very quickly. You will feel full for up to an hour, even if you eat a large portion of berries. Secondly, when losing weight, you don’t need to use barberry as a seasoning, because when dried, it stimulates the appetite many times more. In the best way The use of barberry for weight loss is to prepare compote from the berries without adding sugar. A minimum of calories, a full stomach and a wonderful aroma - these are the results of drinking barberry drink.

Berry drink

An effective barberry drink can be very easily prepared at home. You will need 50 grams for this dried berries, a little granulated sugar, a pinch of vanilla. We wash the fruits and pour boiling water over them. Then put it on the stove, bring to a boil and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. After the drink is ready, it needs to be allowed to stand for another 3 hours. Then strain the drink, add sugar and vanilla (or vanilla sugar) and you can enjoy its pleasant taste and aroma. It is worth remembering that this drink has a pronounced choleretic and diuretic effect.

Seasoning

Barberry berries are used not only in folk medicine, but also in cooking. Beneficial properties go well with great taste. Syrups, juices, compotes, jellies, jams, and sauces are prepared from the fruits of the bush. Residents of the Caucasus use barberry in preparing meat dishes. Slightly unripe fruits can be served various dishes, having previously salted or marinated them. Barberry is often used in cooking as a seasoning, especially for pilaf. The spice slightly changes the color of the dish and gives it a refined aroma.

Barberry berries are preferably used to prepare the spice. Recipes are presented in many variations. The most common is the following: washed and soaked fruits overnight must first be boiled until softened. Then rub them through a sieve and cover with sugar. You can add chopped cloves, ginger, cinnamon and simmer again over low heat. The finished seasoning is poured into jars and rolled up. This spice goes very well with meat and fish dishes.

Blanks

Roots, leaves, shrub bark, and not just berries are suitable for preparations. Barberries begin to be harvested in early May, when the juice is released. The bark is dried in dryers and well ventilated. When the bush just begins to bloom, the leaves are collected and also dried. Barberry berries, photos of which you can see in the article, are used to make preserves, jams, healing tinctures for the winter. In spring or autumn, the roots of the bush are dug. Prepared parts are stored in rooms protected from moisture. Their beneficial features barberry can be stored for up to three years.

Berries: barberry and goji

In appearance, these fruits are very similar to each other. This similarity gave rise to the opinion that the goji berry is a barberry. Some fans of miracle weight loss drugs have begun to become disillusioned. Another factor that sparked interest in this issue is that people began to call them Chinese barberry. The question arises about what is the difference between a foreign plant and a domestic one, that the first one has gained such incredible popularity, and is the goji berry actually a barberry?

If you look at the roots, it is obvious that only taste and appearance the fruits are somewhat similar. Botany clearly indicates that these plants belong to different families: goji belongs to the Solanaceae, and barberry belongs to the Barberry family. We can talk about the similarity of goji berries to tomatoes more than to barberries. Chemical composition plants are also quite different. This suggests that goji berries and barberry berries are completely different products, with different properties.

Contraindications

Despite all the beneficial properties of barberry berries, they are still not without contraindications; they must be used carefully, observing the dosage.

With prolonged use of barberry fruits and preparations that contain them, constipation (constipation) may gradually develop. Barberry should not be taken by patients in a pre-infarction state, suffering from increased acidity stomach and thrombophlebitis. Barberry is contraindicated for obstetric and gynecological bleeding, as well as bleeding during menopause. It is not recommended to use barberry tinctures during pregnancy, with cirrhosis of the liver, arterial hypertension, as well as persons under 12 years of age.

Let's touch the thorny bush carefully Barberry Common (lat. Berberis vulgaris), which is called northern lemon or a candy bush (remember barberry lollipops?).
In fact, the name barberry comes from the Arabic beriberi - with shell-shaped petals. Also popularly this spice called sour sloe, berberis, sour thorn.

Use in cooking barberry spices
Sour young barberry leaves are used instead of sorrel to prepare green cabbage soup (they can be stored during the flowering period and dried in the open air). The fruits, both fresh and dried, are added to soups to impart a sour taste. Unripe fruits can replace capers (they are pickled or salted and served with meat and game; this method was well known in pre-revolutionary Russian cuisine); the pulp of ripe barberries can replace lemon.
Barberries are used to make jam, jellies, juices, syrups, sherbets, make tinctures, liqueurs, and also add berries as a pleasant sour seasoning to savory sauces for game (for example, wild goose), fried beef and veal.
Young people in Holland fresh leaves eaten in salad. Syrup is prepared from the fruits, jam, marmalade, and mousse are made. The fruits are widely used in the confectionery industry and alcoholic beverage production. The fruits can be pickled and salted.
In some cuisines of the peoples of the Caucasus and Transcaucasia, berries are added to horseradish, and in Central Asia this spice definitely put in pilaf and added to the filling for kupat. In oriental cuisine, barberry is dried, crushed and served with lamb dishes.

Barberry juice quenches thirst well and stimulates appetite; it is used as a kind of aperitif.
For long-term storage, barberry berries are covered with sugar or salt (depending on the dishes in which the spice will be used) and stored in the freezer.
You can dry barberry berries yourself in the oven at a low temperature (no more than 40 degrees).

Use in medicine barberry spices
All parts of the barberry plant (leaves, fruits, bark and roots) are widely used in medicine because it is biologically rich active substances, in particular alkaloids.
Barberry has a choleretic effect, helps with liver diseases, jaundice and in the fight against bacteria.
It also stimulates blood clotting, causes contraction of the smooth muscles of the uterus, lowers blood pressure, slows the heartbeat and has a calming effect.

Barberry berries contain apple and ascorbic acid, rich in vitamins and substances that cleanse the body and slow down the aging process; have antipyretic, antimicrobial, hemostatic, diaphoretic and astringent properties. Used for liver diseases, kidney stone disease, with inflammation of the kidneys, Bladder, gout and rheumatism. Young barberry leaves are brewed as a vitamin tea.
The fruits and leaves of barberry contain substances that prevent cardiovascular diseases, fighting the formation of blood clots, restoring the elasticity of blood vessels, stopping bleeding.

Preparations from barberry relieve pain in the side, eliminate chronic constipation, treat liver cirrhosis and stomach ulcers, as well as headaches and joint pain.
The bark of branches and stems in the form water infusion It is used for sore throats as a rinse and as an antitussive, externally - as an anti-inflammatory agent for eye diseases.
There are contraindications when using barberry preparations; pregnant women should be especially careful.

Description barberry spices
Barberry is a very thorny shrub, found in wildlife(everywhere except Australia and Antarctica), and is also widely used as a hedge. In autumn, barberry is extremely beautiful with bright red berries and changing color leaves.
Barberry is distributed mainly in mountainous regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The genus contains about 175 species.
At the break, the branches and roots have a bright lemon color. This color is given to them by the alkaloid berberine.
There are trident-shaped spines on the shoots and trunks. The leaves are small, 3-4 cm long, and turn fiery red in autumn. In racemose inflorescences there are up to 25 medium-sized fragrant bright yellow flowers. This barberry blooms in May, in the North most often in the first half of June. The fruits are juicy, sour, bright red berries up to 2 cm long, weighing 0.3 g, which remain on the bushes for a long time in autumn and winter. Unripe berries are not suitable for food.
Barberry tolerates urban conditions well and is easy to shape. They are unpretentious to soil conditions, drought-resistant, do not tolerate stagnant moisture at all, and develop better in the light. About 45 species of barberry grow in our country (Amur, common dark purple, oriental, centipede, Thunberg, Siebold and others), but the most common is the common barberry. His homeland is Crimea and the Caucasus. It is frost-resistant, not afraid of winter, unpretentious to soils and can grow all the way to the Far North.

The bark of the trunks and branches of the common barberry contains alkaloids (0.46-0.53%), a little tannins(1.48%), resinous substances (1.12%). The leaves contain: alkaloids (0.08-0.18%), some tannins (2.3-2.9%) and resinous substances (5.2%), vitamin K (0.5 mg). Unripe barberry fruits contain berberine; in mature ones - carotenoids (xanthophyll, lutein, zeaxanthin, chrysan-temaxanthin, flavoxanthin, auroxanthin, capsanthin, etc.), sugars (4.6% glucose and fructose), pectin substances, organic acids (malic acid 6.62%), ash (0.96%).
The hard yellow barberry wood is used to make souvenirs and crafts, as well as shoe nails. A pink-violet dye for paper, flax, and wool is prepared from ripe fruits with alum; from the roots - a yellow dye for leather, silk and wool.
Common barberry is prohibited for planting in grain cultivation areas, because linear rust of cereals has taken over it - dangerous fungal disease. This circumstance prevents its introduction as a horticultural crop near crop fields.

Story barberry spices
Barberry, in addition to its beauty, has great healing power, what they knew and valued back in ancient Babylon and India. Inscriptions on clay tablets made 650 BC were found in the library of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal, describing healing properties barberry: rejuvenates and cleanses the blood.
Barberry was grown and carefully preserved in Ancient Greece and Rome, it was believed that this plant brings happiness and good luck.
For a long time, healers of Tibetan monasteries consider barberry to be a plant that prolongs youth, as well as effective means against thousands of diseases. Barberry is valued as the surest remedy for ensuring active, healthy longevity.
The fruits and roots of barberry were widely used in the Middle Ages. various diseases, especially with jaundice, diseases internal organs and scurvy.
IN Ancient Rus' the healing properties of barberry were also well known and actively used; it was grown in the royal apothecary gardens, known in Rus' since 1612 and created by order of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.
Since the 16th century, barberry has been cultivated in England, and in Sweden at the beginning of the 17th century. Currently widely cultivated in Western Europe and North America.

Dishes with barberry spice

Stories with barberry spice

A thorny ornamental plant with bright yellow clusters of flowers, growing in parks and squares. It is unlikely that a person unfamiliar with botany will recognize the well-known barberry in this description. After all, this plant is better known as a seasoning.

Description

But the bush has many others useful to people properties. It has beautiful, durable wood, which is why it is used in furniture production. It is used to inlay furniture or create custom interior decorations made of wood.

Shrubs can be used to create a hedge that is not easy to overcome. The very spiny branches of mature plants are tightly intertwined with each other.
Experts know medicinal properties barberry, and every housewife knows about its use as a seasoning in cooking.

Beneficial features

IN medicinal purposes Both berries and leaves and even roots of the bush are used.
Barberry leaves have antipyretic, choleretic, antiseptic, and antimicrobial effects. Scientists have found an alkaloid called berberine in the roots and leaves of the plant. It has an antitumor effect. Tincture from the leaves is useful for liver disease.

The roots of the plant help with diseases gastrointestinal tract, for joint diseases.
The fruits of the plant are used in folk medicine. They are used to lower temperature, for gallbladder diseases, to improve appetite, and eliminate thirst.

Barberry berries have a sweet and sour taste with faint tart notes, the strength of which depends on the plant variety. The seasoning is consumed fresh and dried, both as whole fruits and in powder form. The fruits of this plant can be consumed not only to improve health. They can be eaten in for preventive purposes and a completely healthy person.

In cooking

High nutritional and taste qualities barberry seasonings attracted the attention of chefs all over the world. Berries are especially popular in oriental cuisine; they can be used to enhance the taste of any dish. The natural sourness of this spice allows you to use barberry fruits instead of vinegar or lemon juice when marinating meat for barbecue.

Beverages

Delicious compotes, jelly, jellies, desserts, and marmalade are prepared from berries and juice. The juice of the seasoning turns out to be a beautiful rich color. Amateurs use it to tint tinctures, drinks, juices from other fruits less bright color. Dry ground barberry powder is added to liqueurs, wine, and tinctures to add a fresh note to the aroma of the drink.

With barberry fruits you can brew delicious Herb tea, which will be not only fragrant, but also healthy.

In those areas where the plant grows, refreshing kvass is prepared from it. To do this, you need to fill half the volume of the jar with berries, and pour the rest of the volume cool water and put in dark place for fermentation. You can simply add barberry to ready-made kvass, giving it a new taste with a slight sourness.

Meat dishes

Barberry as a seasoning is often used in first and second courses, especially in Central Asian and Caucasian cuisines. No pilaf recipe is complete without this bright berry. With any manufacturing option, before pouring rice into the ready-made zirvak, be sure to add a handful of seasoning along with other spices to prepare aromatic pilaf.

The sour taste of the seasoning goes well with the taste of any meat, so it is added to minced meat when making cutlets and lula kebabs, which are prepared differently in each nation - in a frying pan, on skewers, over an open fire or in the oven.

Cooking barbecue is also not complete without this seasoning. Some people like to add dried ground seasoning to the marinade for soaking meat, others serve ready-made kebab to the table, be sure to add fresh barberries to the meat.

IN chopped meat, used to prepare oriental home-made sausage Khasip from lamb or beef with pomegranate juice and other spices, be sure to add ground barberry. It is also used in the production of homemade minced meat and for stuffing poultry.

Risotto

Barberry goes well with rice, so in addition to pilaf it is used for cooking rice porridge or risotto.
For preparation you will need:

• 2/3 cup basmati rice;
• 2/3 tomato paste;
• 0.5 glasses of semi-sweet red wine;
• 1.5 tsp each spices (, ground);
• 1 hot pepper;
• salt to taste.

Rinse the rice under running water, place in boiling water and cook for 20 minutes. Place on a heated frying pan tomato paste, spices, salt and mix everything thoroughly. Add hot pepper, cooked rice and pour in red wine, stirring constantly. Let the dish stand over low heat until the wine evaporates a little. After 3-5 minutes the dish is ready.

Sauces

A variety of sauces are prepared from barberry, which are ideal for vegetable or meat dishes. A simple version of this sauce can be prepared by any novice housewife. Fresh berries add a small amount of water and boil until done. The boiled berries are rubbed through a sieve, cooled and any spices are added to the resulting sauce. For example, in Abkhazia they add adjika to this sauce, and in the Caucasus they add pureed horseradish, you can add any spice you like and create a new one unique recipe sauce.

In canning

Barberries are also often used as a seasoning for canning; they are added when sauerkraut is sauerkraut, put in marinades for canning vegetables, and the fruits themselves are pickled.

But not only the berries of this wonderful shrub can be used for food. The young leaves are also edible and taste similar to sorrel. They are often added to soups and marinades and are important ingredient in salads and drinks, giving the finished product light dish sourness and unique taste.

Almost everything that tastes sour contains vitamin C. So barberry - spice sweet and sour, and contains it in huge quantities. It is often called northern lemon or candy bush. Quite accurate popular names. Sometimes it is also ) or wolf berries (probably due to the fact that unripe fruits are poisonous). But Iranian zereshk (alternative name) is an independent plant, although there are about 500 of its species.

Scope of application of barberry and its combination with other spices

Just as the plant’s habitat is wide (it is not only found in Antarctica), it has also found a wide range of applications. In cooking, it is best known for its use in pilaf. Forgotten (or needlessly ignored) recipes contain descriptions of jam from red and black fruits, compotes, fruit drinks, teas, and wines. Powdered barberry - seasoning for meat called sumac (not to be confused with, a spice that is also sour).

In the kitchen, barberry is used as a spice in dry form (more often), and sometimes fresh. The leaves of the plant are sometimes used as a seasoning (replacing sorrel). And in medicine and cosmetology all its parts are used. It is not recommended to abuse it during pregnancy - it stimulates uterine contractions. People with hepatitis, cirrhosis, diseases of the bile ducts (especially stones) and bleeding should be wary of its use.

Red and black barberry - spice, which is combined with ginger, juniper, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, turmeric, savory, etc.

It is impossible not to mention the properties of barberry as a seasoning. Many connoisseurs put it in pilaf, and then the dark kernels of barberry perfectly set off light color dishes and give it a unique aroma. You can also prepare a seasoning from these fruits, and then barberry will receive the status of a spice.

So, barberry seasoning, prepared for future use. You can try cooking a little to determine your preferences. First, the berries are washed, poured with water (just to cover) and boiled until soft. Then rub through a sieve and add granulated sugar in a ratio of 250 g of sugar per 1 kg of barberry puree. Add ginger powder, cloves and cinnamon and cook again, stirring until it thickens. After this, they are immediately poured into jars and rolled up. This seasoning is very good for meat and fish dishes.

And one more type of seasoning, which is very simple to prepare: dry the berries, grind them into powder, and store them in a tightly sealed container. This seasoning can be served with barbecue, lula kebab, and lamb broth. The unique taste of barberry will give dishes a refined taste.

Contraindications to taking barberry.

Barberry and its preparations should not be taken without consulting a doctor if bleeding is caused by menopause or childbirth. Tinctures are not recommended for use by pregnant women. Use with caution when cholelithiasis, with cirrhosis of the liver. If you suspect hepatitis, it is also better to consult a doctor. He will determine in what cases barberry-based medications can be taken. Also, children under 12 years of age should not be treated with barberry.

And one more warning: green barberry berries are poisonous!