The “third generation of fruits” are out, they are extremely high in anthocyanins and surprisingly delicious!

Berries are the representatives of "sweet and sour" in the fruit world, with bright colors, tender taste, and bursting juice in one bite. Among berries, blackberries have often been featured in various "health care occasions" in recent years, and have been praised so much that many people are puzzled. Are blackberries really that good? In this article, we will talk about this little star among berries.

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The “Black Diamond” of Fruit

Blackberries are native to North America and have been popular in Europe and America. In recent years, they have become popular in China and have gradually come into people's attention. If you don't know this fruit, you don't have to eat it, but once you come into contact with it, you will easily be attracted by it.

Blackberry is a plant of the genus Rubus in the family Rosaceae. Ripe blackberries are black-purple in color and are aggregate fruits. Each small fruit on a blackberry is a small fruit, like many small grapes gathered together.

Photo by Xue Qingxin

Blackberries are brightly colored and sweet and sour. As a member of the berry family, they contain nearly 90% water. One bite of each is very thirst-quenching. However, due to transportation and storage costs, they are not cheap in many areas. They are the "black diamond" among fruits, and not many people in my country eat them. In addition, blackberries are also a "third generation fruit."

The third generation of fruits, also known as 3G fruits, refer to wild mountain fruits distributed in barren mountains and forests that have not been widely developed and utilized, as well as some newly developed premium fruits, mainly including sea buckthorn, blueberry, sour jujube, pecan, raspberry, fig, Torreya grandis, roxburghii, emblica, blackberry, calcium fruit, mulberry, blue indigo fruit, gooseberry, rose hip, palm leaf raspberry, wild grape, etc. Most of them have "exceeded fruit" in nutrition.

Rich in anthocyanins, a powerful player among fruits

In Europe and the United States, blackberries are known as the "black diamonds" among fruits, which is enough to show how "black and shiny" they are. This appearance color mainly comes from the coloring substance called anthocyanin.

Anthocyanins begin to appear in the later stages of blackberry fruit development, when the fruit turns red. The color is darkest when the fruit is ripe, showing a black-purple color. At this time, the anthocyanin content and accumulation will reach the maximum value.

Studies have shown that when blackberries first grow, they are green and do not contain anthocyanins; when the fruit is fully mature, the color changes to black purple, and the anthocyanin content can increase by 100 to 300 times. The anthocyanin content of mature blackberries is 114.4 to 241.5 mg/100 g.

Although this content is not as high as that of the "king of anthocyanins" blueberry (387~487mg/100g), it is much higher than the strawberries (7~18mg/100g) and grapes (20.6mg/100g) we often eat, which is 5~35 times higher than them.

Anthocyanins have antioxidant effects. The antioxidant capacity of berries is 8 times that of other fruits. Among common berries, the antioxidant capacity of blackberries is second only to blueberries. Eating blackberries regularly can help people stay younger and prevent common chronic diseases.

Studies have shown that if the daily intake of anthocyanins increases from 3 mg to 24 mg, the risk of coronary heart disease will be significantly reduced by 12% to 32%; for every 15 mg increase in anthocyanin intake, the relative risk of myocardial infarction will be reduced by 17%; people with weak resistance or high risk of cardiovascular disease can better maintain their health by consuming about 50 mg of anthocyanins per day; and it can also play a certain role in protecting vision. It can not only allow vision to adapt to dark environments as quickly as possible, but also improve myopia and relieve blurred vision caused by visual fatigue.

In addition, blackberries are rich in nutrients such as vitamin C (21mg/100g), dietary fiber (5.3g/100g), folic acid (25µg/100g), vitamin E (1.17mg/100g), and the mineral potassium (162mg/100g). The content of vitamin C, dietary fiber, and potassium in blackberries is twice that of blueberries.

One blackberry weighs about 6 grams | Photo by Xue Qingxin

Fresh blackberries are too expensive, frozen blackberries are also good

Blackberries are relatively cheap in the south, but fresh blackberries are expensive in northern my country, with half a pound costing 70 or 80 yuan, which is a real pain if you buy them frequently. Frozen blackberries are much cheaper, but some people are concerned about the nutrition and taste of frozen blackberries, which is actually acceptable.

Under natural conditions, the skin of mature blackberries is thin, soft and juicy, and they are easily damaged after being picked. They are not resistant to storage and transportation, and most blackberries will start to deteriorate after being stored at room temperature of 20°C for 2 days. If blackberries are processed into quick-frozen blackberries, it is like pressing the "pause button" for the fruit, which can extend the shelf life.

In terms of taste, blackberries can maintain their unique sweet and sour taste even after long-term frozen storage. If eaten directly, they are quite refreshing, just like small blackberry-flavored ice cream. If eaten after thawing, the taste may not be as good as fresh blackberries. It is best to use microwave thawing, which has a lower juice loss rate and tastes better than thawing at room temperature, refrigerated thawing, or water bath thawing.

In terms of nutrition, a study analyzed blackberries stored at -20℃ for 7 months and found that the content of most compounds in blackberries (such as anthocyanins) remained unchanged or increased during this period, and quick-frozen blackberries were more effective; dietary fiber, potassium, folic acid, vitamin E and other nutrients did not change much; only the loss of vitamin C was inevitable, quick freezing could retain more vitamin C than slow freezing; the antioxidant capacity of frozen blackberries did not change much. If you don't want to lose too much nutrition, just eat it as soon as you buy it.

Summarize

Blackberries are good-looking and nutritious, and are also known as the "fruit of life". A handful of blackberries can provide us with rich anthocyanins, vitamin C, folic acid, dietary fiber, potassium and other nutrients. It's a pity that the price is not affordable, and the probability of appearing on the tables of Chinese residents is relatively low, but it's okay to have a handful occasionally!

References

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Planning and production

Author: Xue Qingxin, registered nutritionist

Reviewer: Ruan Guangfeng, Director of Science and Technology Department, Kexin Food and Nutrition Information Exchange Center