Is blackcurrant a kind of grape?

Blackcurrant is not a grape, but a blackcurrant. It is classified as black ear aldehyde chestnut, alias black bean fruit. In Kazakh language, it belongs to Saxifragaceae, and it is a small perennial shrub. There are about 160 species of this genus, which are widely distributed in temperate and cold temperate zones in the northern hemisphere. Wild varieties of blackcurrant are distributed in Europe and Asia. Domestication and cultivation began in Britain, Holland and Germany in the16th century, and has only a history of more than 400 years. The earliest record of blackcurrant cultivation came from the pharmacology of England in the early 7th century, and it was paid attention to because of the medicinal value of its fruits and leaves. 1998 European blackcurrant was 687,000 tons, an increase of 33.98% compared with 199 1 year.

2 biological characteristics

Blackcurrant is a perennial shrub with small dark brown berries, the cluster height is about 1.4m, the cluster diameter is about 1.2m, the life span can reach 50 years, and the fruiting period is 30 years. The life span of the main branch of blackcurrant is 6~ 10 years. The terminal bud of the main branch is lengthened and the lateral axillary bud is branched. The terminal bud can only last for 2~3 years, and the third ~ fourth terminal bud only forms clustered flower buds, and gradually ages and dies.

Blackcurrants form buds on the branches of the year and blossom and bear fruit the next year. Flower buds are mixed buds, which produce inflorescences and short branches with foliage after germination, and form short fruit branches after fruiting. The life span of short fruit branches is 4~5 years, which gradually weakens and the yield decreases year by year.

The flower of blackcurrant is bisexual and has racemes. There are 5~ 18 flowers on each inflorescence, and each flower bud can produce 1~3 flower buds, and the flowering period is about 15 days. The seed setting rate of self-pollination is low, so it is necessary to configure pollination trees. The fruit is purple-black, round or oblong, with an average single fruit weight of 0.7~ 1.9 g, and the peel is tough and resistant to transportation.

3 Main varieties and characteristics

There are about 160 species of Camellia, and there are 57 species in China, half of which are endemic to China. Distributed in southwest, central, northwest and northeast provinces. There are 7 species 1 varieties in Xinjiang. Seven species are smelly black fruit tea deer, lobular tea deer, Tianshan tea deer, high tea deer and safflower tea deer. 1 The variety is Tianshan Maocha deer. These wild species are mainly distributed in Altai Mountain, Tacheng Mountain and Tianshan Mountain. The main varieties and promising new varieties in China are introduced as follows:

1 bright leaf and thick skin: introduced to Russia at the beginning of this century, it is now the main variety in Heilongjiang Province. The tree is vigorous, with medium germination and branching ability, plant height 1.5 m ... leaves are thick, dark green and shiny. 1 The flower bud has 2~4 inflorescences, the inflorescences are 4~6 cm long, and each flower bud bears 6~8 fruits. The fruit is dark purple, with a single fruit weight of 0.7~0.8 g, neat size and consistent maturity. Thick pericarp, transportation resistance, average yield of 3~4 kg per plant. It germinates in the mountainous areas of northern Xinjiang in early and middle April and ripens in late July. Strong drought resistance, easy to be infected with powdery mildew, so it is necessary to bury the soil for winter protection.

High-yield thin skin: introduced from Russia at the beginning of this century, mainly planted in Heilongjiang Province. The tree has medium potential, strong budding ability, medium branching ability, tree height 1.7m ... long internodes, large leaves, less luster, soft branches and easy drooping. 1 flower bud 1~3 inflorescences, 6~8 cm long, each bearing 8~ 10 fruits. The fruit is black with fruit powder. The weight of a single fruit is about 0.8 grams, the size is neat, the peel is thin and juicy, and it is not resistant to transportation. The yield per plant is about 3 kg. It germinates in the mountainous area of northern Xinjiang in early April and matures in the middle and late July. Strong cold resistance, weak drought resistance and easy to get powdery mildew.

Rudek: Dutch variety, 1986 was introduced to China. The tree has strong potential, moderate germination, hard branches and upright growth, which is suitable for mechanized cultivation and harvesting. The ear is 4~6 cm long, and each ear has 6~8 fruits. The peel is thick, the weight per fruit is 1.0 g, the size is neat, the maturity is consistent, the yield per plant is 4~5 kg, the fruit is resistant to powdery mildew, and the zinc content is the highest. At the beginning of August, the fruit ripens in the mountainous area of northern Xinjiang. [Next Page]

Oibin: Swedish variety, 1986 introduced to China. Short crown and compact cluster are suitable for high-density cultivation. The ear of fruit is 5~6 cm long, and each ear bears 6~7 fruits. Single fruit weight 1.2g, neat, same maturity. The yield per plant is about 5 kg, and it matures in the middle and late July, with strong powdery mildew resistance and cold resistance. The fruit has high sugar-acid ratio and rich flavor, which is suitable for fresh eating.

4 nutritional value and medicinal value

4. 1 nutritional value

Blackcurrant is now widely valued by people and favored by merchants. The research of relevant scientific research institutions shows that:

The amino acids 1 and 18 ingested by human body from plants are found in blackcurrant fruits. The fresh fruit of blackcurrant contains a lot of vitamins A, B, C, D, E, F, P and so on. In particular, the content of vitamin C is higher than that of most fruits, several times to several hundred times higher than that of apples, peaches and grapes. It contains a high proportion of minerals such as calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, iron, phosphorus and zinc, among which the content of calcium is the highest in fruits, which is very suitable for children and the elderly to supplement calcium.

2. Blackcurrant juice is rich in minerals and vitamin C, thus maintaining and coordinating the normal PH value of human tissues and maintaining the alkaline particularity of blood and other body fluids.

Blackcurrant juice contains a lot of potassium and magnesium salts. The main function of potassium salt is to enhance muscle excitability, stabilize myocardial cell membrane and improve arrhythmia. Magnesium salt has certain preventive and therapeutic effects on hypertension and myocardial infarction. When people are mentally or physically overloaded, cortisone entering the blood will lead to myocardial necrosis. It has been clinically proved by medical experts that drinking beverages containing potassium and magnesium can inhibit the production of cortisone, so it has a certain health care effect on patients with heart disease.

4.2 Medicinal value

The fresh fruit of blackcurrant contains a lot of bioflavonoids.

1, bioflavonoids can improve the brittleness and permeability of capillaries. Bioflavonoids can reduce serum cholesterol, relieve arteriosclerosis, soften and refine fragile blood vessels, improve blood vessel permeability and prevent atherosclerosis.

2. In order to delay aging, we must improve the activity of SOD in brain and liver. Bioflavonoids are effective antioxidants in food, and their role as anti-aging substances is second only to vitamin E. ..

3. Bioflavonoids can also prevent the formation of nitrosamines. Human experiments show that drinking 20 ml of blackcurrant juice every day can prevent the synthesis of nitrosamines in the body caused by ingesting 30 mg of nitrate.

4. The anticancer effect of bioflavonoids is manifested in two aspects: one is the inhibition of malignant cells (that is, stopping or inhibiting their growth), and the other is the biochemical protection of cells from carcinogens.

5, bioflavonoids have antibacterial and bacteriostatic effects, which can enhance the ability to resist infectious diseases and enhance human immunity. In addition, bioflavonoids not only have effective antioxidant effect, but also have synergistic effect on ascorbic acid. Blackcurrant seed oil contains n-3 and n-6 polyene fatty acids and vitamin E acetate. These nutrients have the function of preventing and treating cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, have anticancer activity and have strong anticancer and health care effects.

In addition, the researchers found α -linolenic acid and γ -linolenic acid from the natural oil extracted from blackcurrant, especially γ -linolenic acid, which is a rare and special unsaturated fatty acid and rarely distributed in nature and does not exist in general vegetable oil. These two kinds of unsaturated fatty acids are not only necessary for human body, but also cannot be synthesized by human body itself, so they must be taken from external nutrition. Clinical research shows that these two linolenic acids not only have the effects of inhibiting platelet aggregation, lowering blood pressure, softening blood vessels, lowering blood lipid, preventing and treating cardiovascular diseases, but also have strong anti-cancer effects (breast cancer, rectal cancer, etc.). ), and has a significant effect on preventing tumors, delaying aging, regulating human physiological functions, enhancing immunity, and also has the effect of beautifying and losing weight. [Next Page]

5 storage and preservation

5. 1 Harvest

When the thin-skinned blackcurrant berries are ripe, the fruit grains will not fall off for a long time. When all the berries on an inflorescence are ripe, the whole ear can be picked together. However, for thick-skinned varieties, the ripening time of berries has been extended by about 20 days since mid-July. Ripe berries fall off easily and must be harvested in stages. Pick ripe berries. Fully ripe berries have the largest weight, the best juice color and the highest vitamin content. Put the picked berries in a sawdust box and sell them with the box later. According to the variety of packaging, every 16 ~ 24 pieces of wood chips are packed and shipped out. Berries are not perishable when harvested in the afternoon or evening. Mature berries can only be kept for 2 ~ 3 days. Treat the fruits at any time after picking or process them locally to prevent the loss of berries.

5.2 storage

Berry storage is a very important link in blackcurrant production. Picked berries are placed in general conditions (indoors, storage warehouses and storage sheds), and they begin to rot within 3 days after picking, and the decay rate reaches 50% ~ 70% after storage for 7 days, which basically loses their use value.

A small amount of fresh berries can be stored in polyethylene film bags, each bag 1kg. Berries are harvested in sunny and dry weather without any wounds, bagged and tied at the mouth of the bag. Put several bags in a wooden box, send the wooden box to the cold storage and pile it up. The constant temperature of the warehouse is 0 ~- 1℃, and the relative humidity is 85% ~ 90%. It can be stored for about two months, and the appearance and flavor quality of berries have not changed, and the weight loss of 1 ~ 2g is only 1kg berries.

If stored in a nitrogen-filled cold box at 2 ~-4℃ and humidity of 70% ~ 75%, it will remain fresh and delicious after 70 days, and the content of vitamin C will be reduced very little.

A large number of processed berries can be put into short plastic baskets, precooled and piled up quickly in the cold storage at-1.5 ~ 2.0℃, and the baskets are covered with plastic films to reduce water evaporation, and the storage period can reach 1 month. Although the stored berries wilted after losing water, there were no rotten fruits, the soluble solids and sugar contents increased slightly, and the contents of acid and vitamin C decreased slightly.

6 production technology

Blackcurrant can produce a variety of products. The basic technology of its main products is introduced as follows:

Blackcurrant juice

Raw materials → cleaning → peeling → crushing → enzymolysis → juicing → filtering → blending → degassing → homogenization → instantaneous sterilization at high temperature → filling and sealing → sterilization.

6.2 Blackcurrant wine

Blackcurrant wine (scientific name: black currant) is brewed from high-quality black beans in northeast China. Raw materials require that the sugar content of fruit should be above 8~ 10% and the acidity should be about 2g/ 100ml. Strictly classify and eliminate rotten fruits and green fruits. Then crushing, wherein the crushing degree reaches more than 98%; adding sulfurous acid, white sugar and deodorized alcohol into the slurry, fully stirring, and adding artificially cultured yeast for fermentation. After three times of fermentation and separation, the alcohol content reached 1 1%, and the residual sugar was below 1%, and then it was aged. Because the original black bean wine has a high acid content, it will take more than three years to age. Soak black beans in deodorized alcohol, and the original wine is bright in color and rich in fruit flavor. Store it for later use. Fermented wine and soaked wine are mixed according to the ratio of 3: 1.

6.3 blackcurrant jam