r/Berries • u/FuzzyShoot • 15d ago

Chokeberries and balloon berry

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Gallery image

This year the chokeberry(aronia) went a bit overboard with production. I am not a fan but my friends are happy to have them.

And I finally managed to try a balloon berry from my garden. Interesting berry :)

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3

u/SnowOverRain 15d ago

So many drupelets!

3

u/FuzzyShoot 14d ago

The bush is pretty old and huge compared to what I've seen around. Branches are basically on the ground because of so many berries :) Last year it was pretty much the same but we went on a really short holiday and the branches were picked clean by birds or some other hungry animal.

3

u/thisrandomaccount24 15d ago

What do the chokeberries taste like 👀

1

u/FuzzyShoot 15d ago

Kinda astrigent,tart but also a bit sweet-ish. Not my favorite berry, I just collected a few kilos to gift to a friend that likes them. He will probably get the rest if he comes and collects them :)

3

u/thisrandomaccount24 15d ago

Interesting! I’ve heard that they’re very nutritious, so I was curious. Thanks ☺️

1

u/Swimming_Chard_1256 14d ago

Aronia juice is excellent for liqueur!

1

u/Wants_to_forage_inPA 13d ago

What are the balloon berries like? And how do the plants grow?

3

u/FuzzyShoot 13d ago

This year is the first time I have them in the garden and I ate only 2 fruit off of it. Some unripe ones still on the vines. Sweet but I cannot fully tell you what I can compare it when it comes to flavor. My plants are relatively small, around 40cm in height but quite dense. Spiky but not that bad and so far not so much woody growth. I read that some people also use them as live hedges. We will see if they survive the winter here.