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ORAC

Posted 7/8/2009 10:48pm by Lyndon Hartz.

Colorful Eating
By Good Earth Food Alliance grower, Amy Brucker

A few years ago I was introduced to ORAC, oxygen radical absorbance capacity, otherwise known as the antioxidant capacity of foods. Although no scientific study appears to be completely definitive on this subject, many studies have identified foods with a high ORAC value. In 2007, scientists with the United States Department of Agriculture published an updated list of ORAC values for 277 foods commonly consumed by the U.S. population (fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, spices, grains, etc.). One website I found suggested that these ORAC values appear on nutrition labels. Although understanding antioxidant capacity provides more insight into how food choice is related to the aging process, most of us just need to know that foods with a deeper or varied color often have more antioxidant strength and thus a higher ORAC. For me, that means eat a lot of berries!

June and July are the best months of the year for stocking up on berries. Right now, blueberries, one of the highest ORAC values for local berries, are at peak production in central Illinois and are ready for picking. My husband and I visited a blueberry U-Pick on Saturday and were able to fill the freezer with enough blueberries for the year. Wild black raspberries can be found along the roadsides or on the edges of wooded areas. Be sure to wear long sleeves and pants when you tackle these thorny gems. On our land, wild gooseberries grow right next to the wild black raspberries so we pick them both into one bucket. A hint about gooseberries: most people think a gooseberry should be green but, if you leave them on the bush a little longer, they turn purple and taste much sweeter. In the garden, we've got some red raspberries ripening up right now. The recent rain and a little more warm weather will bring them on full force. Within a week or two, the blackberries should be ready for picking. These also grow wild along roadsides. They differ from the wild black raspberries in that they are larger and the core remains with the berry when it is picked.

Cultivated and wild berry picking time only comes once a year so don't miss out and, as always, make sure you've received permission from the land owner to pick any wild berries you may find.

On the Good Earth Food Alliance website:

a new recipe for Beets with Toasted Walnuts from Erin Meyer.