Despite the fact that shadberry is widespread in the middle lane, there are people who have not even heard of such a berry. But even though the irga is in the shadow of such "stars" as strawberries or raspberries, nevertheless, it tastes good and has a lot of useful properties.
The description of its positive and negative qualities and is dedicated to this material.
Irga: description and photo
Irga (Amelánchier), also called Corinka, belongs to the Rosaceae family and belongs to the tribe Apple and the Irga genus. Distributed in Europe, North America, in the north of Africa, in Siberia, in Japan. The plant is a shrub, sometimes a small tree, reaching 5 meters in height. Its leaves are oval, in autumn they have a spectacular appearance, they turn red or yellow-red. The flowers are small, white or cream-colored, clustered in brushes.
Did you know? The word "irga" is supposed to come from the Mongol irga or Kalmyk jarɣä, which means "hardwood shrub".Fruits are berries (although it is more correct, from a botanical point of view, to call them apples) with a diameter of up to 10 mm. They can be black with blue, reddish-purple or violet-blue, they have a characteristic gray bloom, have a delicate aroma. Taste is sweet and tart.
Is it possible to eat irgu?
Without a doubt, this berry is edible. They eat both wild-growing and garden irgu, use it fresh, prepare mousses, souffles, pastila, alcoholic drinks, compotes, etc. In the registry of the Federal State Budgetary Institution “State Portal Commission”, so far there is only one variety of this plant, it is called “Starry Night”.
Important! Children under 5 years old should not give this berry because of the presence of various allergenic substances in its composition.
The composition and beneficial properties of berries
100 g of the product contains approximately 0.3 g of fat, 0.6 g of protein, and 12 g of carbohydrate. Energy value - 45 kcal. In addition, shadberry berries are extremely rich in ascorbic acid (about 40%), they contain tannins (0.5%), as well as carotene (up to 0.5%) and pectin (1%).
Such a set of substances allows using this product as a general tonic and immunostimulating agent. In addition, it has tonic, antioxidant and antibacterial properties. Products from the fruit of shadberry are used to improve vision, in case of indigestion, to relieve stress, as a prevention of cardiovascular diseases, stroke, atherosclerosis, etc.
We advise you to find out how the hawthorn, black raspberry, goji, cowberry, cherry, gooseberry, viburnum, black chokeberry, blackberry, cloudberry are beneficial for the body.
Product application
Irgi berries are widely used both in cooking and in traditional medicine. In addition, their useful properties are used by cosmetologists and nutritionists. Below are some useful recipes using this product.
Did you know? This crop is an excellent stock for various fruit trees, especially for dwarf apple trees and pears.
In folk medicine
Folk healers advise to use irgu for sore throat, cardiovascular diseases, problems with the gastrointestinal tract, to improve vision and as a bactericidal agent. The simplest application is washing it with juice of purulent wounds, burns, gargling in case of sore throat or oral cavity periodontal disease.
The use of tincture is recommended as a tonic and immunostimulating agent. For its preparation, you need to crush the berries to a puree state, pour the resulting mass into a glass container so that it fills approximately of the volume. Then pour the vodka, but you should not fill the entire container to the neck, you need a little underfill. The filled container should be placed in a dark, cool place and left for three days there, and then filtered - after that, the tincture can be consumed. Tincture is recommended to take three times a day before meals in a tablespoon.
Find out what useful properties irga has and what can be made from berries for the winter.
To stop bleeding gums, you can use a decoction. To do this, take a teaspoon of dried berries and pour them with a glass of boiling water, and then boil for 20 minutes. After cooling, broth it is filtered. Broth rinse the mouth 2-3 times a day.
Important! Irga has a noticeable sedative (i.e., sedative) effect, so drivers should not use it before the trip, at least in large quantities - this can reduce the reaction and concentration of the driver.
Slimming
There is no special diet based on products from irgie. Use fruits and juice as an additive to various dishes. With the introduction of them in the diet should be borne in mind that the fruits contain quite a lot of carbohydrates, so you should eat these products in moderation.
Cosmetic properties
In cosmetology, irga has found wide application. Various means of its fruits have a rejuvenating effect on the skin, prevent its fading. They also tighten the pores of the skin, have a beneficial effect on oily skin. In addition, cosmetic preparations are used to strengthen nails and hair. There are many cosmetic recipes using these fruits, we will cite some of them. 
For oily skin with enlarged pores, the following face mask is useful. Mixes a tablespoon of pulp fruits irgi with one egg white. The mixture is applied to the skin of the face and aged for up to 20 minutes. After that, the mixture is washed with cool water.
At home, you can make a face mask of pine needles, persimmon, fenugreek, carrot juice, grapefruit.
For a rejuvenating mask, you should mix a tablespoon of irgi juice with a teaspoon of honey and a tablespoon of cottage cheese. The resulting mixture is applied to the skin of the face. The mask is kept for 15 minutes. Wash it with boiled water.
In cooking
It is common to use shadberry in the same quality as the use of raisins (sometimes called "northern raisins") - like stuffing buns, cakes, and cookies. To do this, you need to wilt the fruit. You can do this using direct sunlight. For this, a flat surface on which the sun's rays fall is covered with paper and the fruits are laid in one layer. To protect against insects cover them with gauze. Berries should be wilted to such a state that when pressed there is no juice from them. 
This berry makes a good jam. For its preparation, washed berries are blanched for no more than 2 minutes, then they are added to the prepared thick sugar syrup and brought to a boil over low heat. Then turn off the fire and let it brew for 8 hours. Then again in the same way bring to a boil, while adding about a gram of citric acid. Instead of citric acid, you can use chopped lemon, it will turn out even tastier. A pound of fruit uses a pound of sugar.
Harm and contraindications
Like any product incorporating a number of active substances, an irga has and contraindications:
- It is not recommended for people with hypotension (low blood pressure), because it helps reduce pressure;
- Do not eat this product for constipation because of its securing action;
- it is necessary to completely eliminate these fruits and products from them from the diet in hemophilia and in general for any problems with blood clotting;
- there is also an individual intolerance to these fruits.
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