Composition and calorie content of barberry. Useful properties, possible harm and contraindications to the product. In what dishes to use?
Harm and contraindications to the use of barberry
Like any berry, barberry has its own contraindications, and it can be harmful when consumed.
Who is not recommended to use barberry and products with its content:
- Pregnant women, during bleeding … It is not advised to take drugs with this plant, as well as its berries during pregnancy and with bleeding with incomplete separation of the placenta from the walls of the uterus, with bleeding during menopause.
- Patients with cholelithiasis, liver cirrhosis and complex hepatitis … Decoctions and tinctures of barberry, having a strong choleretic effect, can cause exacerbations in these diseases.
- Patients with blood clots … Barberry and berry preparations increase blood clotting and constrict blood vessels, therefore they are not recommended to be taken for such health problems.
- To a person with individual intolerance … Barberry tends to cause unwanted reactions in people prone to allergies.
- Patients with low blood pressure … Barberry berries and its preparations lower blood pressure, so they are contraindicated for hypotensive patients.
- Children under 12 years old … Due to the amount of active substances in the barberry, the fruits of this plant should not be given to small children.
Barberry recipes
We all know barberry sweets as sweets made from barberry berries. But this is not the only product from this plant. Having a wide range of medicinal effects on our body, it is also used to make jam, jelly, juice, syrup. It is added to meat sauce. It is very popular in Asian and Caucasian cuisines, where pilaf and meat dishes are not cooked without barberry. Dry berries are used to make a powder for spices for barbecue, lula-kebab.
Barberry recipes:
- Ruby barberry jam … For this recipe, we need 1 kg of berries. First, fill the barberry fruits with warm water for 8-10 hours. Then we drain the liquid, remove the bones. Then we prepare syrup from 1.5 kg of sugar and 0.5 liters of water. Fill them with berries and cook the jam until tender. Enjoy your tea!
- Barberry jelly … Components: 1 kg of berries, 1 glass of water, 1-1.5 kg of sugar. First, fill the barberry fruits with water and warm them until soft. Then we filter them through a sieve. Add sugar to the resulting mass and cook until the desired density. Pour into sterilized jars and close with tin lids.
- Barberry marmalade … First you need to rinse with 1 kg of barberry. Then boil the berries for 5-10 minutes and drain the liquid. Now we remove the seeds, add 750 g of sugar and put on fire again. Stirring constantly, cook our marmalade until thickened. Then we spread the mass on a board, dry it, sprinkle with sugar and cut into pieces. Such a homemade dessert is not inferior in taste to any store, not to mention the benefits, because this delicacy is completely natural.
- Barberry jam … We need 1 kg of berries, 1.5-2 kg of sugar and a glass of water. First, we cook the syrup, but for its preparation we take only 600 g of sugar. We wash the berries, put them in an enamel pan. Then it should be poured with chilled syrup. We insist for a day, then the liquid must be drained. After that, add water to the berries again and leave them for 24 hours. Drain the syrup again, bring to a boil, add sugar and pour in the berries. Now we will cook the jam until tender - until the berries are transparent. Enjoy your tea on long winter evenings!
- Pilaf with barberry … Ingredients: 2 cups rice, 3 medium-sized carrots, the same amount of onions, 1 bell pepper, 0.5 cups barberry, 500 g of meat. Salt, bay leaves and sunflower oil are also essential ingredients for the preparation of our dish. We will cook 4 servings. First, chop the meat finely and fry. Then we rinse, peel and chop the peppers, onions and carrots. Then we also fry them, but not together with the meat, but separately. Now we rinse the rice and barberry and add them to the vegetables. We prepare the groats so that they are golden brown. Mix all the prepared products for pilaf, salt, pepper and add laurel leaves. After that, fill with water so that it covers the rice. Simmer the dish over low heat, in a bowl with a lid. The liquid has evaporated - the pilaf is ready. Bon Appetit!
- Barberry sauce … We need 1 kg of barberry berries, as well as 250 g of sugar and spices: cinnamon, ginger and cloves. First, wash the fruits and cook until soft. Then we wipe it through a sieve. Then add sugar and spices, mix, and again on fire. Stir during the cooking process so that our sauce does not burn. The mass has decreased by three quarters - the dish is ready. Having an excellent and at the same time unusual sweet and sour taste, the sauce will complement meat dishes.
- Salted barberry … Exceptionally suitable as a side dish for meat dishes. We put the washed barberry berries on twigs in prepared jars. Prepare the brine from 3 cups of water and 1/4 cup of salt. Cool and fill the fruits. We seal with nylon caps. If mold appears, you need to change the brine.
- Pickled barberry … This dish is served in the same way as the previous one. We wash, dry the berries and put them in jars. Then we prepare the marinade: for 1.5 kg of barberry fruits - 900 ml of vinegar, 800 g of sugar, 50 allspice peas, a pinch of cinnamon, 50 cloves and 1 tbsp. a spoonful of salt. Pour the berries with the cooled marinade, seal the jars.
- Barberry pastila … This sour taste and healthy delicacy will be prepared from 300 g of barberry, 200 g of sugar and 50-100 g of powdered sugar. First, boil the berries. Then we rub them through a sieve, mix the resulting mass with sugar, and then beat it with a blender and put it in tins, greased with oil. After that, dry the marshmallow in the oven, cut it beautifully and sprinkle it with powdered sugar.
- Assorted compote … Due to the very strong concentration of active substances, it is advisable not to prepare this drink from the barberry itself, so we will prepare an assortment. The best combination of products for compote is barberry, apples and pears, or the pears themselves. Components: 1 liter of water, 1 kg of apples, 200 g of barberry and 300-500 g of sugar (this depends on the acidity of the apples). First, cook the syrup. Then we wash the apples and barberry. In fruits, remove the core and stalks, and then cut into four parts. After that, lay the food for the compote in layers in jars and fill it with syrup. Now pasteurize for 25-30 minutes. We seal with lids.
- Barberry tincture with rum … We need the following products: 500 g of barberry, 1 liter of vodka or moonshine, 50 ml of rum, 250 ml of water. Is that all? Of course not. We cannot do without 200 g of sugar, 0.5 lemon (zest) and 2 cm of cinnamon sticks. First, wash the barberry berries, put them in a 2-liter jar and add the zest and cinnamon. Then we fill everything with vodka and rum. Close the container tightly and leave for 3 weeks in a cool, dark place. Then we drain the liquid, and squeeze the berries thoroughly. We make syrup from water and sugar and add it to the drained infusion. Mix well and filter, the most acceptable way is through cotton wool. Then we bottle it. After 4 months, you can enjoy the divine taste of the tincture.
- Barberry liqueur with ginger … Take 1 kg of barberry, more precisely berries, half a kilogram of sugar, alcohol will need 1 liter. In addition, you need 1 vanilla pod (can be substituted with vanilla sugar) and a piece of dry ginger. We wash and dry the fruits, transfer them to a two-liter jar. Add 1 vanilla pod or 8 g vanilla sugar, ginger and sugar. Fill with vodka. After that, you should leave the drink in a cool dark place, keeping it there for 4 weeks. Shake the container from time to time. Then we drain the liquid, and squeeze the berries. We filter through cotton wool and bottle. This drink should not be abused, it is drunk for medicinal purposes. Use approximately 20 ml of liquor per day. Approved for use a month after we bottled it.
Interesting facts about barberry
Barberry is one of the best honey plants. Its beneficial properties have been known to mankind for a very long time, since the times of Ancient India and Ancient Babylon.
For a long time, this plant has been the focus of attention of scientists from the University of Göttingen and the Center for Environmental Sciences. Helmholtz in Germany. They learned that barberry is a very independent plant, i.e. it decides for itself when to shed damaged fruits, thanks to its good structural memory.
Karl Linnaeus believed that the Berbers brought this plant to the northern Mediterranean coast from Libya and Tunisia. And so he named it Berberis, which means "barberry". In addition, the monk Constantine the African described the plants of this area and used this name in his book in the 11th century. Despite these historical facts, in our time, scientists are inclined to believe that the barberry got its name from the word "barbarian", from the Germanic tribes named by the ancient Romans. These barbarians invaded the empire many, many years ago. Barberry berries are harvested in September. When fresh, they deteriorate quickly, so they need to be processed immediately.
Today, a yellow dye is obtained from the bark of barberry. Wood is used in turning work, and sometimes in inlay work. And the Himalayan species of this plant are also used for mosaic work.
Watch a video about barberry:
Having a large amount of nutrients, barberry deserves to have its berries or preparations with their use take a place in your first-aid kits and cellars. I would like to note that now all this can be bought, but it is healthier and tastier to cook it with your own hands.
