Information on the energy value of products in the preparation of diet food is extremely important. People who strive for ideal forms are forced to count calories consumed. And how nice it is to realize when tasty food, besides incredible benefits, delivers a reasonable amount of protein, fat and carbohydrates to the human body. Eaten for dessert, black currant, whose calorie content per 100 grams is 40 kcal, will be an excellent alternative to a cream cake, cleverly able to leave an unbearable fat on the stomach and hips.
History with geography
A perennial shrub with berries of red, black, white and other flowers has been grown in Russia since the 11th century. The first mention of a plant that can have a beneficial effect on human health is noted in the 15th century healing books.
Cultural modern varieties of blackcurrant originated from the Siberian and European subspecies. The European category of shrubs is found in the western part of the countries of the former USSR (the exception is Crimea) and grows along the outskirts of swamps, rivers, streams.
In Central Asia, in the mountains of Siberia and Altai, the Siberian subspecies of black sour-sweet berry is widespread. The fruits of wild Siberian currants can reach a diameter of 2.5 cm. Bushes of this subspecies are resistant to colds, diseases and lack of moisture.
The low calorie content of fresh blackcurrant and its beneficial properties prompted breeders to grow cultivars in large quantities. Hybrids of European and Siberian varieties of currant have a good hereditary base and are more tenacious. Today, culture can be found in every area of gardeners.
Chemical composition
The calorie content of blackcurrant with each 100-gram snack delivers 40 kcal of energy, 200 mg of vitamin C and other useful macro- and microelements to the human body. Moreover, the source of ascorbic acid content is not only berries, but also leaves of the bush.
The leader in potassium content - banana - is twice as inferior to blackcurrant in this element. Superiority in vitamin E is second only to cloudberry, chokeberry and rosehip.
Black berries contain: a small amount of vitamins B 2 , B 6 , B 1 , PP; folic and pantothenic acids. Of the above, only pantothenic acid is in an amount (0.4 mg), which can favorably affect the vitamin balance of a person. According to this indicator, currants overtake red brothers - raspberries, strawberries, sea buckthorn.
Of the trace elements, the plant contains: iron, zinc, manganese, iodine, copper, fluorine. Of sugars, fructose predominates.
Macronutrients: magnesium, calcium, sodium, phosphorus - also contains blackcurrant. The calorie content of berries in their pure form is 40 kcal / 100 grams, of which:
- proteins - 1 gram;
- carbohydrates - 7.3 grams;
- fats - 0.4 grams;
- water - 84 grams;
- monosaccharides and disaccharides - 7.3 grams;
- dietary fiber - 4.8 grams.
Benefit
In addition to its unique taste, black currant with regular use in food can have potential health consequences: contribute to the fight against aging, cancer, neuralgic diseases and inflammatory processes.
Juice from berries is recommended to drink with low acidity of the stomach, and honey added to the drink helps with diseases of the bronchi and mucous membranes of the larynx.
In addition to the fruits of the bush, people also use leaves. In folk remedies and herbal preparations for the treatment of hypertension, kidney disease, urolithiasis and giving tonic properties to the drink, blackcurrant leaves are used.
The taste of berries did not go unnoticed in the preparation of dishes. Stewed fruit, preserves, jellies, sauces, fillings for baking - these are dishes that can be prepared from black sweet and sour fruits of the bush.
Blackcurrant is an ideal topping for cocktails, ice cream and yogurt, the calorie content per 100 grams of such desserts does not exceed 100 kcal, which is very important for people who care about the slimness of the figure.
Warnings
By their chemical composition, currant berries contain potassium, which contributes to blood coagulation. Therefore, it is not recommended to consume plant fruits in large quantities to people who have a predisposition to inflammation of the walls of the veins and the formation of blood clots.
There are cases of individual intolerance to the essential oils contained in the berries. The presence of acids in the plant should be alarming before consuming blackcurrant in people suffering from stomach ulcers and high acidity.
US ban
Diet berry - blackcurrant, the calorie content of which is not able to harm the figure, was more than 100 years out of favor with the US government. European pine imports to the United States brought pine tree disease to the state’s forest industry. The American phytopathologists made, as it turned out later, erroneous conclusions that this disease is not transmitted between the pines, namely blackcurrant is a carrier of a harmful fungus.
An agricultural ban on berries was introduced in 1911. Thanks to activist and farmer Quinn, the cultivation of black currants in 2003 was put on a commercial stream.
Low calorie storage methods
The small calorie content of blackcurrant and its taste make the housewives stock up on berries in the summer to pamper themselves and their relatives with delicious, low-fat desserts in winter.
The simplest method of preserving the beneficial properties of the fetus is freezing. No heat treatments of the product and cans are required; it is enough to rinse, dry the berries and pack them in clean bags with a further arrangement in the freezer. The advantage of this method of harvesting in its energy value. The calorie content of frozen black currants does not differ from fresh and remains in low positions.
The granny method with the addition of sugar is considered to be a popular method of berry storage, however, the energy value of such a self-sufficient dessert increases, and it is not recommended for use by diabetics.
Currant with sugar
There are a lot of recipes for preserving berries with sugar - from jam to simple grinding. To preserve the vitamins and natural properties of fruits, the best option is to refuse sterilization and store the crushed berries with sugar in the refrigerator. In a ratio of one to two, the grated currants with sugar are mixed and poured into sterile jars that are stored in the refrigerator.
Blackcurrant with sugar calorie content is already quite different - 284 kcal (and this is 100 g). Adding such a vitamin bomb to warm tea or milk helps in the fight against many seasonal diseases. Children love sweetened berries, and their nutritional value does not bother them at all. Therefore, it is necessary to have in the bins both frozen and grated fruits of the black beauty.
For slimming people, an indispensable delicacy is a fresh, fragrant black currant, the calorie content of which allows you to use the product without limiting yourself in quantity.