Aronia – from North America to Nordic gardens

Aronia, also known as chokeberry, is a dark berry in the rose family that originates from eastern North America.

From North America to European gardens

Indigenous peoples in North America used the berry long before aronia was introduced to Europe and Russia in the 20th century, where the bush quickly became popular as a hardy garden plant.

What aronia contains

Aronia contains anthocyanins (the dark pigments), vitamin C, carotenes, folate and vitamin E.

Taste and preparation

Fresh aronia berries are quite tart and astringent, so they are most often used dried, as a powder, or cooked into juice and jam together with sweeter berries.

Cultivation

The black aronia bush is very hardy and can be grown up to USDA hardiness zone 6 in Sweden, making it one of the hardiest berry bushes you can have in the garden. Our organic aronia powder is an example of how it is typically sold.