Samberi berry - beneficial properties, recipes. Sunberry: beneficial properties, contraindications, benefits and harms Sunberry benefits and harms

In recent years, in addition to traditional ones, exotic crops are increasingly being found in household plots. This seems to be becoming a fashion trend. A measure of the modernity and seriousness of the hobby of gardening. Among the variety of exotic plants that have managed to establish themselves in temperate latitudes, I would like to dwell on a fairly new one that has not yet received wide publicity.

Description of the berry

Sunberry (Galbrey)– hybrid the nightshade family. This bush was obtained by crossing the African nightshade and the European small-fruited creeping nightshade. It reaches a height of one and a half meters. More often it grows up to 90 cm. Very fruitful. Sunberry - translated from English as sunny berry. Named so by its creator, American gardener and breeder Luther Burbank (1849 - 1926).

This hybrid is valued primarily for its fruits. Sunberry berries are large and black in color. It is because of this that this plant is also called blueberry forte or Canadian blueberry. The fruits can reach sizes collected in clusters of 10-15 pieces. Contains vitamin C and carotene. Saturated with elements such as iron, magnesium, potassium, calcium, manganese, copper, zinc, nickel, chromium, silver, and this is almost the complete complex of trace elements necessary for a person.

Canadian blueberries are quite high in calories - they contain up to 220 kcal per 100 g of berries. The reason for this is the high content of nutrients: proteins, fats, fructose and glucose. The following active compounds are present: anthocyanins, bioflavonoids, tannins, chlorophyll.

Sunberry nightshade fruits have healing properties, can be used in the prevention and treatment of joint diseases, improve blood composition, digestion, and appetite. Increases visual acuity.

Often, due to the consonance of the name, people think that the composition of the medical drug “Blueberry Forte” includes Canadian blueberries. However, it is not. Apart from the name, the medical product and blueberry forte have nothing in common. Although eating sunberry nightshade fruits also has a beneficial effect on human vision.

Conditions for successful growth

Blueberry forte is an unpretentious plant. Grows easily in the middle zone and tolerates autumn frosts. The fruits have time to ripen. Galbry grows on almost any soil. You don’t have to thin out or stepchild. However, it is recommended to tie up the stepsons to avoid the berries touching the ground. It begins to bloom from the beginning of summer until the first frost. However, the plant also has its own preferences.

Site selection

The requirements for the site are quite simple. This can be any part or garden. Closed or open. It is advisable that there is no strong wind in the selected area. The plant responds well to shading. However, this reduces the yield. The berries grow small and have a tart taste. You can plant galbri between rows of other crops (except for other nightshades: potatoes, tomatoes, etc. In the latter case, the plant will grow and develop poorly.

Canadian blueberries cannot be planted within city limits. This is due to the fact that the plant pulls all the heavy metals from the soil. For example, zinc, arsenic, cadmium, manganese.

Ideal soil for planting

Important! Sunberry does not like acidic soil.

How to grow sunberry seedlings from seeds

Blueberries forte are easy to grow. It is enough to buy seeds at a garden store or get them from fruits grown in your garden. If you want to “breed” Canadian blueberries from fruits from your own plot, you should take into account some conditions.

Seed preparation

The seeds are extracted from ripe black berries. Use the largest berries from the most prolific and early clusters. Seeds can also be purchased at a specialty store. Nightshade seeds are very similar to tomato seeds.

Sowing scheme

It is optimal to plant galbry seedlings in open ground. Seeds take a long time to germinate, up to three months. Before planting, it is better to treat the seeds, soak them in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for 20 minutes, then rinse them in running cold water and place them in a damp cloth or gauze for 2-3 days. Make sure that the shadow does not dry out. It is better to sow in February or early March. It is sown in a container with nutrient soil (plastic cups can also be used) to a depth of 3-5 mm. Before planting, make sure the container has enough holes for drainage. Seedlings germinate at room temperature and moderate humidity. It is better to water with warm water.

Seedling care

The container with seedlings should be moved to a warm, well-lit place. It is better to plant them in separate containers (cups). It is better to place seedlings in a room with windows facing south. It is better if the containers with seedlings are placed on the windowsill. Galbry is very light-loving. It is recommended to spray the seedlings 1-2 times a day with a spray bottle. There should be enough moisture. However, make sure that it is good. Excessive moisture can harm young roots. Under good conditions, seedlings grow quickly.

Did you know? The sunny berry has no officially named varieties. Consider this fact when purchasing seeds. Do this only in specialized places.

Planting sunberries in open ground and further care

The timing of transplanting blueberry forte seedlings into open ground coincides with the time of planting tomato seedlings, namely the end of May - the beginning of June. A young plant should have 5-7 leaves. It is better to choose a place at the rate of 70 by 70 cm for each bush. There should be about half a meter between the rows. Don’t forget, sunberry grows up to one and a half meters - this is quite easy. In addition, free access to the plant is necessary when collecting

Watering and fertilizing the plant

Sunberry nightshade is unpretentious to watering. However, make sure that the soil does not dry out too much. In dry summers it is better to water regularly. This should be done either early in the morning (5-6 am) or in the evening (19-20 pm). The water should be warm, not lower than 23°C.

Blueberries forte do not need special ones. They can show quite good results growing on ordinary soil. However, to guarantee positive results, it is better to fertilize the plant at least twice a season with mullein. Can be dissolved in water and poured under the root.

Soil care and tying

As such, soil care is very simple. You just need to weed as needed and loosen the soil between the rows. The frequency of loosening is about once every two weeks. This procedure will allow the soil to be saturated with oxygen, and, therefore, the nightshade root system will develop better. Weeding allows you to remove unnecessary operations. Perform soil cultivation operations carefully. The depth of loosening is within 6-8 cm. It is best to loosen the day after rain or watering. To do this, you can use a regular squeegee.

Don't damage the roots. This can lead to crop losses.

Straight bushes don’t even need to be tied up. If you want to save the harvest, it is better to tie up the plant. To do this, it is enough to use slingshots or some other supports. The fact is that there can be a lot of berries and the stepson branches cannot support the weight of the fruit and tend to the ground. The berries should not touch the soil.

Harvesting and harvesting

About a month before harvest (September - October), it is advisable to tear off the buds and new stepsons. This is done with the aim that the plant directs all its forces to the development of the fruit, and not to flowering and shoots.

Harvesting is best done after the first frost. This is somewhere around the end of October - beginning of November. From the cold, blueberries forte lose their astringency, become sweeter and more pleasant to taste. They ripen in batches. Therefore, the collection will take several approaches at intervals of several days. Moreover, fertility will increase each time.

Did you know? Canadian blueberries do not rot on the bush. Therefore, do not rush to collect them in September and early October. Let them hang until frost. They will wilt a little, but the taste will improve.

Sunberry berries do not have a long shelf life. The easiest and most convenient storage method is to freeze the berries in the freezer. In addition to simplicity, this method will also improve the taste of the sunny berry.

A miracle hybrid with an exotic taste that looks like something familiar from childhood - it’s all about the healing sunberry. The selectively bred crop, in addition to its taste, has medicinal properties and is included in some pharmaceuticals and dietary supplements.

What diseases does sunberry help get rid of, what dishes can be prepared from its fruits, and who should not eat the plant, we will tell you further.

Sunberry - what kind of berry

Sunberry - this is how the name of the sunberry plant, exotic for middle latitudes, is translated - this is a shrub from the Solanaceae family. Other names of the plant: Canadian blueberry, garden nightshade, blueberry forte are used less frequently.

The hybrid was bred by US breeder Luther Burbank relatively recently by the standards of world history, in 1905. Sunberry is a mixture of 2 types of edible nightshades: African (large-fruited, viable, but tasteless) and European nightshade (edible and pleasant to the taste).

In the CIS countries, the hybrid appeared recently and was not widely spread due to its specific taste and external resemblance to the inedible nightshade. Amateur agronomists often call the berry “samberi,” and dishonest sellers pass off the plant as a highbush blueberry.

Description, photo

Sunberry is a herbaceous annual in the form of a spreading shrub with a stem height of 60-75 cm. Externally, the green part of the plant looks like a tomato, and its fruits look like a mixture of black currants and blueberries.

Flowers are collected in inflorescences of 10-15 pieces each. Sunberry seeds are small, similar in shape and size to tomato seeds. The fruit harvesting period is the end of September-October, when they reach full ripening.

The plant is unpretentious and can grow in almost any climate, even with poor watering and lack of light.

Chemical composition

The fruits of the sunberry are rich in vital nutrients: ascorbic acid (vitamin C to increase the overall tone of the body, eliminate inflammation) and carotene (vitamin A to strengthen the immune system, improve vision), and also contain:

hexuronic acid;
lipids;
tannins;
saponins;
niacin;
riboflavin;
fatty acid;
steroids;
bioflavonoids;
chlorophyll;
anthocyanin substances;
fructose;
pectin.

Among the minerals in berries, the leading place is occupied by potassium and sodium, but they are present in different concentrations:

magnesium (restores nerve cells);
copper (promotes production);
calcium (strengthens connective tissue);
silver (kills pathogenic bacteria);
iron (enriches the blood);
chromium (normalizes blood sugar levels, reduces “bad” cholesterol);
zinc (improves hematopoiesis, increases the number of leukocytes);
selenium (rejuvenating effect on the body);
manganese (strengthens the immune system).

The energy value of 100 g of berries is only 220 Kcal with a ratio of protein, fat and carbohydrates of 9/28/41. Thanks to the high content of dietary fiber and pectin, sunberry activates metabolism, promotes weight loss and is recommended for dietary nutrition.

Beneficial features

Berries have the following healing properties:

disinfectant;
laxative;
sleeping pills;
rejuvenating;
tonic;
hemostatic;
hepatoprotective;
adsorbent;
antioxidant;
anti-inflammatory;
antitumor.

Sunberry products and their fresh fruits have a positive effect on:

on visual acuity;
pressure;
blood sugar levels;
brain activity;
cholesterol level;
memory;
functioning of the nervous system;
metabolic processes;
concentration;
endurance;
adaptation of the body to unfavorable external factors.

Sunberry - planting and care

The spreading bush of the hybrid has the following advantages compared to other varieties of garden berries:

Unpretentiousness. Sunberry is undemanding to the soil, capable of developing and producing abundant harvests both in the shade and in the sun, and does not require frequent watering.
Persistence. The hybrid is not susceptible to diseases typical of garden crops and is not afraid of pests; it tolerates dry summers and cold winters well.
High yield. From each bush per season, up to 1 kg of ripe berries the size of a medium-sized cherry are collected.
Usefulness and healing properties. The berries are used in folk medicine and in cooking for making jam, jam, compote, and other dishes.
Continuous flowering and long fruiting(until October). After reaching full ripeness, the berries do not fall off, dry out or rot, but remain hanging on the stem.

Tips for planting Canadian blueberries:

Good neighbors in the garden plot for sunberries are cucumbers and pumpkins.
Cabbage planted next to shrubs has a negative effect on yield.
The ideal soil for the plant is a loose mixture of medium-nutrient soil and forest turf.
Seeds from large, multiple-fruited inflorescences are suitable for propagation.

Advice! Sunberry bushes grow widely, so the distance between seedlings should be at least 90-100 cm.

The shrub is watered twice a week, the ground under it is regularly loosened, and fed once a season with organic fertilizers (manure, bird droppings, compost).

Sunberry berries ripen from the beginning of June to the end of September; for better ripening, the tops are pinched, but it is not necessary to pintle them.

There is no need to tie up the stems, but supports may be needed when the crop is ripening for overloaded branches. The berries should not come into contact with the ground.

Ripe fruits are soft and turn from green to black. At the same time, they can ripen when picked like tomatoes. Harvesting is done daily, as the ripening of the fruit is uneven.

How to grow berries

The plant reproduces by seed, so the most difficult stage of growing a sunberry bush in a garden plot is considered to be germination of seeds. To speed up the process, do the following:

The seeds are soaked for 30 minutes in a warm, pale pink solution of potassium permanganate in water.
Make a neat cut on the top shell of each seed with a sharp knife.
Future seedlings are placed on a piece of gauze or cotton wool soaked in water.
The container with seeds is covered on top with a material that allows light, but not air, to pass through (film, transparent plastic, glass).
Wait at least 4-5 days until the sprouts appear, regularly moistening the cotton wool with water.
After the formation of 4-5 leaves, the seedling is transplanted into a pot with neutral, well-drained soil for further growing. In summer, regular watering and moderate lighting are sufficient for seedlings. In winter, in indoor conditions, it is better to create a greenhouse effect using film.

Advice! Seed germination begins in March in order to plant the plant in the ground by April-May. The planting is compacted with radishes or lettuce.

You can separate the husks from the kernels in another way:

Make a shallow puncture in each seed with a thin sewing needle.
Place the seeds in a plastic container along with a 1 cm thick layer of fine river sand.
Fill the container halfway with clean warm water and close the lid tightly.
Shake the container several times while closed. Sand will help clean the seeds from the husk and free the kernels for easy germination.

Strengthened seedlings are planted in open ground at the same time as other nightshades (peppers, potatoes, tomatoes). The optimal place on the site is the sunny side.

Sunberry Recipes

Fresh sunny berries have a specific taste, combining the acidity of blackcurrant and the tartness of blueberries. The pulp of the fruit smells like freshly cut grass. Not everyone likes sunberry in its raw form, but the product has many more fans in its form:

jam;
jam;
juice;
guilt;
additives for vegetable stew;
seasonings;
pickled or salty snack.

Attention! In cooking, sunberry is incompatible with any dairy products. This combination leads to food poisoning.

The cooking time of the berries should not exceed 5-10 minutes, otherwise the fruits will lose all their healing properties. Additional ingredients help improve the taste of Canadian blueberry dishes:

aromatic spices (cinnamon, vanilla);
apples;
quince;
barberry;
lemon;
orange.

Jam

To make jam from Canadian blueberries you will need:

1-1.2 kg of sunberries;
1 kg sugar;
250 ml of clean water;
zest and juice of 1 lemon;
herbs, spices.

Before cooking, the berries are washed and scalded with boiling water, and then follow the instructions:

Prepare a syrup from water and sugar, bring to a boil over medium heat with continuous stirring.
Place the berries in the syrup and cook for 5-7 minutes.
Turn off the stove and cool the jam to room temperature.
Boil the berries in the syrup twice more for 10 minutes, alternating with cooling.
Add zest and spices to the finished product to taste, pour into sterilized jars, and roll up.

If after 3 stages of cooking you drain the syrup and place the berries in a single layer in a colander, then after drying you get natural candied sunberry fruits.

Alternative way to make jam:

Rinse 1 kg of Canadian blueberries under running water.
Add 500 g of sugar.
Crush the fruits or punch them with a blender.
Let sit for 15 minutes to allow the sunberries to release their juice.
Cook over medium heat for 5-7, stirring continuously.
Pour the finished jam into clean containers and store in the refrigerator. It is not recommended to preserve this version of jam for the winter. It is recommended to consume no more than 4 tbsp per day. l. sweet product.

Sunberry jam with Japanese quince is prepared as follows:

Wash 2 kg of ripe Canadian blueberries.
10 quince fruits are ground on a coarse grater. Add to sunberry.
The berries are covered with 2 kg of sugar and 0.5 liters of water.
The mixture is boiled for up to half an hour, stirring constantly.
After 10-12 hours, the jam is simmered over low heat until cooked, cinnamon, barberries and vanilla sugar are added.

Jam without cooking is prepared from a mixture of 0.5 kg of berries, 0.5 kg of sweet apples and 1.2 kg of sugar. All fresh ingredients are passed through a meat grinder, a sweetener is added, and mixed. The product is ready to eat after 5-6 hours, but it should only be stored in the refrigerator and no longer than 3-5 days.

Compote

They approach the preparation of compote thoroughly, because it is important to properly pre-process Canadian blueberries. They work like this:

A portion of sunberry is sorted, damaged and missing fruits are removed.
The selected part is washed and dried.
The berries are scalded with boiling water three times, each time draining the water that has drained from the berries.
The peel of each fruit is pierced with a needle or pin in 2-3 places and covered with sugar (in the proportion of 2 parts sweetener to 1 part berries).
After the product has released its juice, pour boiling water over it and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.
The composition is filtered, the berries are distributed into sterilized jars, and the syrup is boiled for another 15-20 minutes.
Sunberry is poured with cooled syrup and rolled up.

To obtain juice from a hybrid plant, the fruits are boiled with a small amount of water over a fire for no longer than 20 minutes. Then the berries are filtered, crushed and passed through 2-3 layers of gauze. The resulting juice is flavored with honey to taste and poured into glass bottles, jars, and decanters. Store the product in the refrigerator for no longer than 3 days.

In addition to soft drinks, Canadian blueberries are also used to make wine. To do this, 1 kg of unripe berries is crushed and mixed with 1 kg of fresh apple puree. The resulting composition is added to 1 tbsp. l. sugar and leave to ferment in a warm place for 5 days. It is recommended to keep the mixture in a wooden or enamel container with a loosely closed lid.

On the 6th day, add 200 ml of warm water and 2 kg of sugar to the bowl, closing it with a lid with a stopper. The pressure in the container is periodically released. The wine will become light in 60-90 days, after which it is bottled for further storage.

Dried berries

To prepare berries for the winter, the sunberry bush along with the fruits is hung upside down in a dry, ventilated place and dried. Even in this form, Canadian blueberries retain their healing properties. The powder obtained from mashed berries is the basis for medicinal infusions, decoctions and solutions.

Separately, the berries are dried in industrial or household dryers: outdoors, this process will take a lot of time. To dry, the fruits are distributed on a sieve in 1 layer and kept in a dryer or oven for 3 hours at a temperature of 60 degrees.

Dry berries are used to prepare a medicinal infusion against benign tumors in the prostate. Pour 1 tsp into a thermos. sunberry and licorice root, pour 950-1000 ml of warm clean water, let it brew for 10-12 hours. The finished infusion is drunk 200 ml on an empty stomach before meals, a new composition is prepared every day.

Sunberries are also frozen in portions, in vacuum bags. The product can be stored in the freezer for no longer than 1 year. An alternative preparation option is to freeze the berries, sprinkled with sugar, in plastic containers. In this case, 500 g of sweetener is consumed per 2 kg of fresh raw materials.

In folk medicine, dried sunberry leaves are used, which are collected in the summer and dried in natural conditions. Decoctions with the addition of dry leaves of Canadian blueberries reduce blood sugar levels and improve the well-being of diabetics. Infusions of dead wood in water relieve menstrual pain, neuroses, nervous fatigue, and inflammation of the bladder.

The benefits and harms of berries

The fruits of the exotic shrub, due to their rich chemical composition and abundance of beneficial properties, are used in folk medicine to treat:

Sore throat and inflammation of the mucous membrane of the larynx and pharynx. Rinsing with a decoction or a mixture of water and sunberry juice disinfects and disinfects lesions.
Chronic headaches and migraines.
Gout.
Hemorrhoids.
Varicose veins.
Rheumatoid arthritis.
Metabolic disorders and obesity.
Rhinitis and sinusitis.
Bleeding, including painful menstruation and inflammation in the uterus.
Glaucoma and decreased visual acuity.
Neuroses.
Malignant neoplasms.

Berries can cause harm to the body only if consumed uncontrolled or if contraindications are ignored. The danger is posed by tannins and saponins contained in sunberries. However, their concentration in berries is so low that there is no threat to human health.

Sun berries can cause serious harm only to pregnant women, since they increase blood circulation, including in the pelvic organs. This effect increases the tone of the uterus, which leads to miscarriages and premature birth.

External use of the sunberry and its parts is aimed at the treatment of dermatological diseases (psoriasis, dermatitis, acne, boils).

A compress for application to purulent wounds is prepared from a mixture of 50 ml of juice from Canadian blueberry leaves, 1 tbsp. l. juice from nightshade stem, 1 egg white. Healing applications are also made from crushed berries mixed with any low-fat fermented milk product (kefir, fermented baked milk, yogurt). Keeping such a compress on the affected area of the skin is allowed for no more than 15-20 minutes.

To heal purulent wounds, use antiseptic lotions prepared according to the following recipe:

Fry a handful of berries over high heat in a frying pan with 1 tbsp. l. butter.
Crush the blanched fruits to a paste.
Apply the substance to the affected area and leave for 15-20 minutes, then rinse with warm water.

Applications made from fabric with a slurry of ripe Canadian blueberries are used to treat varicose veins, as well as relieve pain and fatigue in the legs.

In addition to compresses, medicinal masks and lotions are made from the fruits to treat inflammation on the facial skin. To do this, the berries, crushed to a mushy state, are mixed in equal proportions with egg white. Apply a thin layer and leave for no longer than 25-30 minutes, then lubricate the face with nourishing cream.

Do you want blueberries? But not a simple one, but a Canadian one - a harsh northern berry with a restrained taste and luxurious color. Then take note - sunberry, and also sunberry and garden nightshade. The mysterious berry appeared in North American gardens a little more than 100 years ago, and our summer residents and gardeners are still just mastering the overseas guest of the sunberry.

A little history

South America is considered to be the birthplace of sunberries. The variety of these berries was developed at the beginning of the twentieth century by the American scientific breeder, Darwin's follower Luther Burbank, who also had a very stubborn character. The parent form of the plant is the African nightshade and the representative of the European continent - creeping nightshade.

The resulting berry hybrid was called sunberry, which translated from English meant “sunny berry.” The new species inherited fruits from the nightshade from Africa, which are approximately the size of a large cherry, are undemanding in cultivation, and also have fairly high yield qualities. But excellent taste qualities as a result of selection were obtained from its European relative - creeping nightshade.

The berry bush grows quite tall, sometimes reaching 2 meters in height. This plant has a thick stem that resembles a tetrahedron. The berries are large, shiny, similar in color to our blueberries, but they ripen in clusters, about 15 pieces each.

You can remove up to a bucket of these sunny berries from the bush. The advantage of sunberries over other berries is their continuous flowering, as well as ripening until autumn.

A relative of tomatoes and potatoes

Not only our native biologist and breeder Ivan Michurin worked wonders for the benefit of science. His American colleague Luther Burbank (the “author” of a special potato variety for French fries) presented the sunberry plant to the world in 1905. This is a hybrid of the huge Guinean nightshade and the small European one, which is more fragrant and quite edible.

Sunberry's closest relatives are tomatoes and eggplants; it bears fruit with black berries, which are collected in clusters. One brush can contain up to 10 cherry-sized pieces, the color is like black currant.

In terms of its biological characteristics, the plant resembles tomatoes, and its main advantage is its greater resistance to cold and drought. Gardeners joke: to grow Canadian blueberry seedlings at home, all you need is a kettle. And in the greenhouse and in the garden she can handle it herself - even without unnecessary feeding and with moderate watering.

Sunberry came to Russia quite recently, and is already actively crowding out tomatoes and zucchini in our gardens, and vases of cherry and raspberry jam on the table. The mystery and persistence of the American berry has given rise to various myths and a lot of conflicting information regarding the properties and uses of Canadian blueberries.

Sunberry can hardly be called a rich storehouse of vitamins: its beneficial properties and contraindications are mainly due to the mineral complex.

Potassium, sodium, magnesium, calcium, iron, manganese, copper, zinc and chromium - all these essential substances for humans are found in one modest berry. Canadian blueberries are saturated with tannins, valuable bioflavonoids and pectin - it contains about 15%.

One of the popular names for sunberries is blueberry forte. Many people say that this is what is included in the popular dietary supplement of the same name.

This is pure nonsense (just look at the ingredients in vitamins to see “blueberry extract” and not nightshade), but a fact is a fact. Canadian blueberries are actually very good for the eyes. What else is sunberry famous for, the medicinal properties of which are being so actively studied today?

has a mild laxative effect and improves the functioning of the digestive tract;
is an effective means for cleansing the body of waste and toxins;
strengthens the eye muscles and maintains vision during constant work at the monitor;
normalizes blood pressure;
helps in the treatment of colds of various etiologies;
relieves sore throat;
calms the nerves and helps cope with constant insomnia;
relieves joint pain;
copes with edema and improves kidney condition (due to the diuretic effect);
relieves headaches;
helps in the treatment of skin diseases (including psoriasis).

Nutritionists advise eating no more than two handfuls of sunberries per day. It is not recommended to give sunberry to young children, due to the fact that the child’s body is just developing, and the berry can cause rashes and itching. Sunberry is actively used in traditional medicine recipes.

How to restore strength after illness. Three glasses of sunberry are mixed with a glass of pine nuts and passed through a meat grinder. The resulting mixture is mixed with honey. Store the product in the refrigerator. Take one tablespoon before meals.
As a gargle during a sore throat. To do this, the sunberries are pre-squeezed. Repeat the rinsing procedure 2-3 times a day.
To reduce pressure plant stems and flowers are used. This is done during the flowering period. Grind the greens in a blender and squeeze out the juice. Add honey at the rate of 2 tablespoons per half liter of juice. You should take one tablespoon in the morning and afternoon.
For the treatment of thyroid diseases. To prepare a mixture that will compensate for the lack of iodine, you can use sunberry, honey, and feijoa. To prepare, you need to take 2 parts of berries, one part of honey and feijoa.
All components must be mixed in equal proportions. Leave the resulting mixture in a dark place for 40-80 minutes. This consistency must be taken twice a day (in the morning and lunch) 2/3 cup.
Using sunberry to treat diseases of the cardiovascular system. The beneficial substances and elements contained in the berries help renew the blood and improve its composition. In addition, this plant has a beneficial effect on blood vessels, increases their elasticity and prevents “fragility”.
Benefits for vision. Vitamin A contained in fruits has a positive effect on vision, maintaining its sharpness. Therefore, those who already have vision problems or constantly keep their eyes strained are recommended to take an extract from sunberries.
Treatment of prostate adenoma. Place 5 g of dried sunberries and the same amount of licorice roots in half a liter of water heated to 40 degrees. Leave for 10 hours in a closed container. Take the infusion (necessarily fresh) before meals (10 minutes before) 1 tbsp.
For abscesses and purulent wounds use crushed berry pulp. After adding a little sour milk or kefir to it, it is applied to the wounds.
For the treatment of gastritis 100 grams of a mixture of berries, leaves and stems is poured into 3 liters. boiling water Leave for 3 hours. Strain. Take several times a day, half an hour before meals, 3 tbsp.
For acne, various boils prepare a mixture of crushed fresh leaves and sunberries. It is the fresh mixture that preserves all the beneficial properties of the plant.
Treatment of skin diseases(psoriasis, eczema, seborrhea). Mix 2 egg whites, 100 g of sunberry juice squeezed from the leaves and 2 tablespoons of berry juice. Use the mixture as a lotion.
For iodine deficiency. If you brought feijoa home from vacation or a regular supermarket, don’t miss the chance. An exotic medicine will not just replace a full-fledged dessert, but will also support the thyroid gland. For 2 cups of garden nightshade, take 1 cup of feijoa, grind it in a blender and add a glass of honey (preferably acacia). This medicine is stored in the refrigerator and taken before breakfast and lunch. One tablespoon is enough.
For insomnia. Mix the juice from sunberry leaves with flower or linden honey. Take it half an hour before bedtime, one tablespoon.
For headaches brew the stems with berries and leave for 12 hours. The infusion is used for lotions, which are applied to the head for 20 minutes. I repeat the procedure every day until the pain goes away.
For joint pain, rheumatism- you need to mix 200 grams of horseradish minced with 250 grams of honey. Take 1 tbsp 3 times a day with a glass of juice from the stems and leaves of sunberry. In addition, before going to bed, you need to take thirty-minute baths, to which you add 50 grams of ground horseradish and 150 ml of freshly squeezed juice from the stems and leaves of sunberry.
For asthma Dried flowers and unripe sunberries, as well as stems of flowering lungwort, should be used in equal proportions. Grind everything thoroughly and mix. 1 tbsp. l. pour 0.5 liters of boiling water over the mixture and brew in a thermos. Strain after 2 hours. Take 3 times a day, half an hour before meals, 1 tbsp.

Women who dream of pushing back their old age a little can prepare a real elixir of youth. To prepare it, you will need berry juice, which is diluted with water and honey (for 5 liters of water you need to take one liter of honey).

The resulting consistency should be poured into jars and placed in a dark place. You should take 2 tbsp daily. before every meal. This product will not only preserve youth, but also strengthen memory/improve vision and immunity.

A mask with sunberry helps very well with age spots. To do this, you need to take the main component and mash it well with a fork (2 tbsp), add a teaspoon of warm mashed potatoes, chopped parsley (tsp) and lemon juice (tbsp).

This mixture must be applied to the skin of the face/neck/body for 20-30 minutes. After this period of time, the consistency must be washed off with warm water.

Product storage features

The leaves of the berry bush are stored dried for a long time. They are collected during the summer and dried, laid out in a layer of 3-5 cm. But the berries for storage will have to wait. They close the season of spinning and conservation.

To keep fresh berries for a long time, they are cut in bunches and sent to the refrigerator. Thus, the berry can be stored for quite a long time due to its elasticity. If you want to store fresh nightshades for the winter, freeze them after rinsing them. Use special dryers or ovens.

Features of collecting and preparing healthy berries

Nightshade can be stored for a month in a cool place.

The berries have a specific nightshade aftertaste, which not many people like. In order to remove it, you need to scald the fruits with boiling water.

Important! The sunberry plant absorbs heavy metals from the soil, which then end up in the berries. For this reason, they are not grown in the city, but only in summer cottages - away from roads.

Dried fruits. The nightshade is sorted out, washed, and when the moisture has drained, it is laid out on a cloth in one layer. The fruits are mixed from time to time to better dry the berries. In places well lit by the sun, nightshade is not dried, as it loses its beneficial qualities.
Frozen fruits. Washed and well-dried berries are laid out on a flat surface and frozen. Frozen nightshade is packaged in portions. You can store it in this form for no more than a year.
Freezing with sugar. Clean and dried sunberries are covered with sugar (ratio of 1 kg of nightshade: 300 g of sugar), mixed, and placed in portions in bags or containers.

Sunberry, or sunny berry, is a useful garden plant, and there will always be those who like to eat it. But it, like other medicinal plants, requires meaningful use.

What's the harm?

There are constant debates about sunberries on forums and gardening websites - the benefits and harms of the American berry are described by each person in their own way. Many lovers of traditional garden delicacies have one argument against Canadian blueberries - “not tasty.” Scientists and doctors are free from sweet stereotypes, but they warn: you need to be very careful with sunberries.

Sunberry is a powerful allergen. If this is your first time trying nightshade, be sure to eat a couple of berries to try and wait for your body’s reaction. But even if there are no negative reactions, doctors do not recommend eating more than a handful of berries per day. No one has yet canceled the laxative reaction.
Pectins in sunberry have the ability to intensively “drag” lead and other heavy metals from the soil. Therefore, it is generally prohibited to plant garden nightshade within the boundaries of a vegetable garden, and in dachas and villages the same principle of a handful must be observed.
During pregnancy, you will also have to stick to regular blueberries—Canadian blueberries are strictly prohibited. Nightshade contains substances that can increase uterine contractions and even cause miscarriage.
Sunberry has a mild sedative effect, so you should not drive if you have actively eaten the overseas berry. But a couple of spoons of jam or jam from Canadian blueberries will not harm your driving skills - these are still not tranquilizers, but ordinary nightshade.

Sunberries have a faint, tart flavor that is not at all like the usual sweetness and richness of raspberries, currants or cherries. Some sunberry lovers describe its taste as “a unique bouquet of sour currants, tart gooseberries and sweet blueberries with a slight hint of freshly cut grass,” but most people frankly don’t like it.

But almost everyone who has tried Canadian blueberries admits that in jam their taste changes amazingly, and for the better. The color is also amazing - dark purple, similar to the color of rich ink, funny coloring the tongue and lips.

Not only jam is made from garden nightshade - also jams, fillings for pies and dumplings, marmalades and jellies, and even dried for tea for the winter.

But don’t forget: jam is a rather high-calorie product, “Canadian” has as many as 220 calories per 100 grams. Therefore, one or two spoons of tea will be enough to maintain your figure and fully enjoy the benefits of sunberry.

Sunberry Lemon Jam

You will need: 1 kg of ripe sunberries, 1 kg of sugar, a glass of water, the juice of two lemons and 2-4 sprigs of mint (to taste).

Sunberry Ginger Jam

You will need: a glass of sunny berries, a third of a glass of sugar, a heaped teaspoon of grated ginger, the juice of half a lemon.

Mix sunberry, sugar and ginger in a saucepan and cook for 10 minutes (you need to stir constantly!). Add lemon juice, remove from heat and into a jar. Then we put the jar in a pan with hot water so that it does not reach 1-2 cm from the lid. After 10 minutes you can take it out, cool it and put it in the refrigerator.

And they look like. It is not common in our country, many people know nothing about it, and therefore conflicting information appears.

Description of the berry

This is a hybrid form of nightshade, its berries are edible and have many beneficial properties. Sunberry, or as it is otherwise called - sunny berry, was bred in 1905 Luther Burbank, American Darwinian breeder. He took as a basis two types of nightshades: European creeping and African.

As a result A berry was obtained that produces high yields, is large-fruited, unpretentious to growing conditions, and has good taste.

The plant reaches a height 150 cm, has a powerful stem and strong stepsons. Large berries of matte inky color are collected in clusters up to 10 pieces. blooms until autumn, the berries ripen until the first frost. Sunberry berries can be safely classified as a product that has therapeutic and prophylactic properties.

Chemical composition and calorie content of the product

Sunberry can hardly be called a major source of vitamins; its beneficial properties and contraindications are caused by mineral composition berries: calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium, iron, zinc, manganese, chromium, copper, vitamin C and provitamin A.

Sunberry is rich in tannins, nutrients - antioxidants (vitamin P) and pectins, which make up 15% of the fruit.
The calorie content of the berry is sufficient high: per 100 g of product - 220 kcal.

Beneficial features

Sunberry has the following beneficial features:

high content of pectins - removes toxic substances from the body;
anthocyanins have a positive effect on the composition and quality of blood;
selenium - prolongs the youth of the body;
the body is strengthened;
has anti-cold and antiseptic properties;
is the prevention of cancer;
normalizes digestion;
used as a mild laxative;
increases visual acuity;
indispensable aid for joint diseases.

Application of solar berry

The fruits have found quite wide application. The valuable qualities of the plant are used both for internal and external use.

The fruits and leaves of the plant help prolong the youth of the body, relieve insomnia, and treat skin diseases.

Accelerate the healing process for osteochondrosis, atherosclerosis, asthma, rheumatism. Sunberry fruits and juice have a number of healing properties.

Did you know?Overripe sunberries are very soft, but never dry out or rot!

For prevention and treatment

Nightshade berries have a beneficial effect on metabolic processes and normalize the functioning of all organs and systems.
They contain a large number of beneficial compounds that affect the body and rejuvenate the skin:

used in the treatment of colds and viral diseases - the berries contain a high content of vitamin C;
as a rinse in the treatment of sore throat, for this purpose the juice of the fruit is diluted with water 1:3;
help the liver function;
are a natural sorbent, nightshade is indispensable for poisoning;
recommended for the treatment of gastritis and colitis;
the juice of the leaves of the plant can cure a runny nose even in a chronic condition;
useful micro- and macroelements renew blood and improve its quality;
the elasticity of blood vessels increases;
vitamin A contained in berries has a beneficial effect on visual acuity;
improve memory;
30-40 g of nightshade acts as a mild laxative;
when mixed with kefir, the berries help get rid of small wounds on the skin, pustules, and abscesses;
improve skin regeneration for eczema, psoriasis, seborrhea. To do this, you need to mix nightshade with an egg and apply this mixture to the affected areas of the skin;
used in the treatment of cystitis;
normalize blood pressure;
help with stomach cramps;
used for bladder diseases;
eliminate headaches;
increase the body's endurance.

Sunberry Recipes

You can use the following recipes to make sunberry jam. Jam long storage:

sunberry fruits - 1 kg;
- 2 pieces;
water - 1 glass;
sugar - 1 kg;
- optional.

Sort out the ripe nightshade and keep in boiling water for about five minutes. Drain the water and place the nightshade in the boiling syrup. Boil for no longer than five minutes. Remove the jam from the heat and let cool. Repeat the process two to three more times.

At the final stage, juice 2 is added for flavor. Pour hot jam into jars and roll up.

sunberry fruits - 1 kg;
- 1 kg;
lemon - 1 piece;
sugar - 2 kg;
mint - optional.

Sort out the ripe nightshade and keep in boiling water for about five minutes. Drain the water and grind the nightshade in a meat grinder. It is necessary to peel and core, grind in a meat grinder.

Add chopped lemon and a sprig of mint. Add sugar. Leave the resulting mass for five hours. Stir until smooth and place in prepared containers. Store jam in a cool place.

Jam:

sunberry fruits - 1.5 kg;
sugar - 1,350 kg.

Grind the scalded fruits in a meat grinder (blender), add sugar, cook the resulting mixture over low heat, stirring occasionally.

Pour hot jam into jars and roll up.

Harmful properties

It is necessary to understand that sunberry berries, in addition to benefits, can also bring harm. You should not try nightshade until it is ripe, as the fruits in this state are harmful to the body.

You also need to remember that fruits consumed in large quantities (up to 300 g per day) cause disturbances in the digestive system, diarrhea, and not worth it They should be eaten by pregnant women, as they cause uterine contractions.

Sunberry or garden nightshade is an annual plant, similar in stem structure to a tomato, and in appearance of the berries - to blueberries. The unique plant was born thanks to the efforts of a breeder from the United States, who crossed close members of the nightshade family: Guinean highbush blueberry and creeping European nightshade. In the vastness of our country Sunberry is also known as sunberry, garden nightshade, blueberry forte or Canadian blueberry.. Moreover, all names are of equal importance and equally common.

It should be noted that reviews of Sunberry are quite contradictory. Scientists, breeders and amateur gardeners have repeatedly noted both clear positive effects on the body and the complete absence of any results when consuming garden nightshade. Therefore, in order to remain as objective as possible, we will consider not only the beneficial properties, but also the possible harm of sunberry.

Beneficial features

Garden nightshade berries contain an impressive amount of biologically active compounds: ascorbic and galacturonic acid, galactose, steroids, lipids, carotene, tannins, anthocyanins, pectin, fructose, saponins. In addition, sunny berries are rich in calcium, iron, selenium, potassium, sodium, and silver.

Such an impressive and varied composition has a rejuvenating and tonic effect on the body. Berries normalize metabolic processes and harmonize the functioning of all organs and systems. When taken regularly, they slow down aging and strengthen the spirit and body.

Sunny berries used for:

treatment of liver and gastrointestinal diseases;
normalization of blood pressure;
eliminating chronic headaches;
treatment of rheumatism, joint diseases;
strengthening the eye muscles and relieving fatigue when working at the computer for a long time;
cleansing the body;
prevention of constipation and hemorrhoids;
relief of pain from sore throats, pharyngitis, stomatitis, etc.

Sunberry has pronounced antiseptic properties, helps the body cope with infections, and has an anti-inflammatory effect. If you eat a handful of berries every day during the season, you can thoroughly cleanse the blood and remove waste and toxins from the body. Quite often, sunberry is used as an excellent diuretic instead of chemical drugs.

Due to the presence of a large number of pectin compounds, garden nightshade soothes pain due to inflammation of the stomach and intestines. In case of food poisoning, it works like sorbents, normalizing the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and facilitating the digestion of food. Regular consumption of sunberries is indicated for hemorrhoids, stool problems, and kidney diseases.

Why are sunberries harmful?

Among uninformed people you can often hear the opinion that sunberries are poisonous. In fact, there is some truth in this. Sunberry belongs to the nightshade family, many subspecies of which are truly unsuitable for food use. In the fruits and ground parts of such plants contains dangerous chemical compounds: lead, arsenic, mercury and cadmium. However, in sunberry these substances are in negligibly small dosages, so it is impossible to get poisoned by the berries (unless you greatly exceed the recommended daily intake).

Video recipe for the occasion:

However, you should not overuse Canadian blueberries. Naturopaths and nutritionists It is advised to limit yourself to a maximum of two handfuls of sunberries per day. This amount is enough to get all the useful biologically active substances from the sunberries, but not to provoke the development of an allergic reaction. Otherwise, due to the abundance of antioxidants and plant flavonoids, sunberry can cause skin rashes or itching. For the same reason, berries should not be given to young children whose bodies are just developing.

Who are contraindicated for sun berries?

For those who suffer from individual intolerance;
pregnant women;
children under twelve years of age;
drivers if they have planned long journeys.

Before traveling, drivers should limit their consumption of sunberries, as they can cause drowsiness and make you somewhat disorientated, which is unacceptable while driving. However, it is also better for passengers not to overload on sunberries on the way, since in quantities of more than 200-300 grams per day, the berries can have a pronounced laxative effect.

It should be noted that blueberries forte are quite high in calories: one hundred grams of berries contain more than two hundred kilocalories. Therefore, they are not recommended for use by people who are obese or on a diet.

Important!

Wild nightshade species should not be eaten. Even if the berries are completely similar in appearance to sunberries, they can differ radically in chemical composition and, moreover, contain toxic substances. As a result, taking such fruits will not bring any benefit, and in some cases it will even cause serious food poisoning.

What do sunberries taste like?

Remember the juicy, sour currants. Add to this some pleasant tastelessness and tartness of blueberries with their characteristic sweetish aroma. Now try combining all these characteristics in sunny sunberries, adding a little of the smell of freshly cut grass. This is what garden nightshade will taste like.