The bushes are bending under the weight of the ripe berries this summer, and raspberries and blackberries promise a unique treat at the weekly markets and on the supermarket shelves. Not only beautiful to look at and tasty, the small fruits are also real fitness boosters. It’s worth reaching into the fruit basket, even if your fingers are treacherously red afterwards.
Berries: small and juicy, but big!
The time has finally come for raspberries and blackberries to ripen. In some summers so abundant that the collection baskets quickly become full. The small light and dark red berries are not only a wonderful addition to the menu during the summer months, they are also healthy.
Berries have always been regarded as food and medicinal plants. This is due to their high vitamin and mineral content. They also contain plenty of fiber and a variety of secondary plant substances such as flavonoids and anthocyanins. These color pigments in yellow and orange as well as red and blue fruits are extremely beneficial to health. You can get a taste of blackberries as soon as you pick them – when the fruit is fully ripe, you can feel the colorful juice on your fingers. Another characteristic of ripe blackberries – their high water content! At 88 percent, they are highly recommended as a liquid-rich diet in summer to supplement your daily intake. In order to reach the 2.7 liters required daily, you should drink at least 1.5 to 2 liters per day. The difference is best covered with salad, vegetables or water-rich fruit such as blackberries. Blackberries also contain provitamin A and vitamin C, which protects against cell damage, for example, as well as B vitamins. If you process them into juice, you get a real health drink.
Raspberries: Red and effective
The sweeter raspberries contain minerals such as potassium, iron, magnesium and phosphorus. With the acids, tannins and fiber pectin they contain, they aid digestion and stimulate the metabolism. Raspberries are even said to be helpful for dementia and cardiovascular diseases.
Raspberry syrup is a natural remedy for reducing fever.
How to make your own raspberry syrup:
Mash one kilo of washed, fully ripe raspberries in a bowl and add five tablespoons of brown sugar to this . Then leave the berries to stand in the fridge for about a day. The next day, drain the berries through a kitchen towel into another bowl. This juice is then mixed with brown sugar or honey in a ratio of 4:3 and boiled down to a thick consistency in a shallow pan, stirring constantly. The finished syrup is now filled into boiled, brown jars while still hot. These are closed immediately. The syrup will keep in the fridge for up to a year.
If you have a summer flu, stir a teaspoon of raspberry syrup into a glass of hot water or herbal tea three to four times a day. Not only do the ingredients in raspberries help to reduce fever, but the body also gets the fluids it needs, especially in the case of fever with increased fluid loss through sweating.
Homemade raspberry syrup is also suitable as a refreshing drink. Stirred into cold water, with ice cubes and a squeeze of lemon, it makes a refreshing summer drink that is a pleasure to drink. The raspberry syrup is a real eye-catcher with vanilla ice cream or in a chilled buttermilk drink and also enhances the taste.
Juicy colorful berries – mixture
It’s not just the body that benefits from colorful berry blends – a delicious blackberry and raspberry detox water is also pleasing to the eye:
Add 10 raspberries and 10 blackberries to a liter of water and leave to infuse overnight in the fridge. The next day you can enjoy the juicy detox drink with a slice of lime in a glass. So you benefit from the healthy ingredients without the calories and drink for your eyes and body, keeping them tasty and well hydrated.
Summer fruits: Sustainable drinking pleasure with local berries
To refresh ourselves with fruity drinks in summer, we don’t have to resort to exotic drinks with a poor eco-balance. A foray through the woods or picking your own berries at the farmer’s help us to achieve an equally tasty result: summer berry variations that refresh us when drunk cold, can even reduce fever when hot and also enhance our daily ration of water, and not just visually.
