At the Odessa market

At the Odessa market, originally uploaded by CharlesFred.

garethbee says:
what are these? they look good.

CharlesFred says:
They were really foul. Bitter. Apparently they are good for you in a vitamin C kind of way. They lady laughed when we had to almost spit out our little berry. They need to be boiled with LOTS of sugar, it seems.

garethbee says:
Ah, in that case I think they could be Aronia berries - should be cooked with tons of sugar but contain a huge amount of vitamin c and, allegedly, anti-oxidants. I have some plants - their autumn leaves are quite stunning.

CharlesFred says:
Well, you are the plant expert. I will ask Sergey what they are in Russian and maybe we can work back from there...

garethbee says:
please do - I have only ever seen a much darker version of the aronia, but I believe that it is commonly used in this part of the world

steblina says:
It is the berries of arrow-wood (also guelder/may-rose, latin: viburnum). Berries contain Viburnin glycoside, the one that makes them bitter. If you try to extract substances with boiling or drawing, they will lose viburnin. You should use only fresh juice of these berries as medicine for heart and throat diseases. I used to eat these berries when I was a kid. They are really good with tea, making nice flavor.

garethbee says:
Ah, excellent - thanks Steblina, that makes sense now - cheers. Have never tried these but I will keep an eye out for them now.

fadeevbiz says:
KALINA berries )


I dream of travelling to Odessa )

CharlesFred says:
It's a great place! You should go!

hedgiecc says:
Whatever they taste like, they make a very pretty photo!

CharlesFred says:
Thank you! We were immediately attracted to the colours and the lady selling them. Just a pity about the raw taste, when they looked so sweet.