Bird Cherry: Intolerance & Allergy

This fruit has been so popular with birds since the beginning that the whole tree was named after them, “Prunus avium”. Its brilliant white flowers shine far across the country in April and May. When in summer its fruits are harvested ripe and bitter-sweet, they have successfully overcome many obstacles. During the magnificent blooming period, there may still be heavy rain or late frost that destroys many blossoms. Hail, drought and pests are also enemies of the delicate blossoms during this time. The bird cherry, mother of all sweet cherries was named Tree of the Year in 2010.

This is what you should know about the bird cherry.

Bird cherries have many valuable ingredients to offer. In addition to the important minerals iron, potassium and calcium, the body also absorbs sufficient folic acid, vitamin C, provitamin A, enzymes and tannins when eating the cherries. The bird cherry is a deciduous cherry tree that grows up to 30 meters high and has been native to Central Europe for more than 10,000 years. Cherry pits found on the northern edge of the Alps could be dated to the Stone Age. As early as the 4th century BC, the bird cherry was cultivated in the area around the Black Sea. Then, through the Roman Empire, it spread rapidly throughout Europe and today there is an approximate annual harvest of 2 million tons of the cultivated cherry. In our region, the wild form of the sweet cherry has existed for a long time, but no one thought of cultivating the bird cherry, which was taken over by the inhabitants of the Mediterranean area. Now there are two subspecies with larger and even sweeter fruits. In long decorative rows, Vogel cherries are now often found in domestic orchards. Growing wild, it is widespread throughout Europe as far as Asia Minor, the Caucasus, the Crimea and across northwest Africa. The bird cherry loves nutrient-rich, loamy, not too dry soil. It is often found growing singly on the edge of mixed and deciduous forests, where it reaches a height of up to 30 meters. In the open countryside it grows up to 20 meters high, it lives up to 150 years and has a trunk that grows up to one meter thick above the roots. The fruits from the wild form are much smaller than from culture cherries. In their spherical form they are only 1 cm thick, have very long stems and usually a non-glossy, strong black-red color. Sweet cherries in orchards are all produced by grafting selected branches grafted onto the bird cherry. This can still be easily seen on the trunk of the cultivated cherry, as it has tuberous thickenings at about 2 meters of trunk height, places where the tree was grafted. The bark of the bird cherry has a dark red shiny, smooth surface that curls horizontally from the trunk in cork warty bands, similar to the birch. Like the birch, the bird cherry also does not form bark and its roots develop evenly in width and depth. In old trees, there are often large root runs that go high along the trunk and produce new sprouts through the so-called “root brood”, near the mother tree. The bird cherry belongs to the rose family, as do almost all beautifully flowering fruit tree species. Depending on the area, it blooms in April or May and is covered with thousands and thousands of delicately fragrant five-petaled flowers. Whole branches of the tree are covered with fragrant white and shine conspicuously visible from afar. However, the decorative trees bloom only for a week and if it is too dry even only for five days. They are an important wildlife tree as a bee pasture and nesting site for birds. The bird cherry has a beautiful round and wide crown, its stalky leaves are toothed and have a fresh green color. Under the leaf at the end of the stem there are two to three reddish nectar glands, they attract ants and predatory insects that eat pests. In the Biedermeier period, its reddish, valuable wood was extremely popular for furniture making, especially for inlays. Today it is experiencing a renaissance and is again being used for particularly high-quality furniture. Cherry gum or fool’s gold is the name given to its exuding resin, which was used to stiffen felt hats or was taken dissolved in wine as a cough syrup. Bird cherries are harvested in July, when the small dark fruits have reached their deepest ripeness and their full aroma with the bitter sweet taste.

Importance for health

The high content of anthocyanins in bird cherry has diuretic, astringent, hematopoietic, expectorant and anti-inflammatory effects. In past times, the bark, leaves and stems were also used for medicinal purposes. Today, as in the past, the seeds of the fruit are saved, sewn into linen bags and then warmed up, used as a heating pad, which helps with pain, lumbago, cold feet and rheumatism. Praised, especially by allergy sufferers, a soothing sleep on a cherry pillow. From the stalks of the bird cherry is prepared a healing tea against stubborn cough. It loosens the mucus, which can then be coughed up more easily. Those who suffer from anemia and are thus weak, are helped with bird cherry tea.

Ingredients and nutritional values

Bird cherries have many valuable ingredients to offer. In addition to the important minerals iron, potassium and calcium, the body also absorbs sufficient folic acid, vitamin C, provitamin A, enzymes and tannins when eating cherries. At the same time, it is low-calorie pleasure, because 100 grams reach less than 60 kilocalories.

Intolerances and allergies

Birch pollen allergy sufferers may have to suffer when eating bird cherries, because a cross-allergy could occur. The consumption of cultivated cherries or cultivated bird cherries, often leads to flatulence and rumbling in the abdomen. These unpleasant phenomena do not occur with fruits that come from wild trees. For people with stomach problems, the bird cherries are more suitable as a compote, then bloating does not occur, because they are easier to digest.

Shopping and kitchen tips

Bird cherries are rarely offered for sale at market stalls, mostly they are in home gardens and are consumed from there. If known where the attractive fruit trees stand wild, only ripe cherries should be harvested, because they do not ripen. This also limits their storage time to a maximum of one week in the refrigerator. When offered at the market, care should be taken to ensure that the stem is nice and green and smooth so that a truly fresh fruit can be consumed.

Preparation tips

The fact that the green foliage of the bird cherry is also suitable for consumption is largely unknown. With its taste of almonds and cherries, it is very nutritious and a nice addition to salads. The flowers of the bird cherry are also edible and a bright feature in salads. Even though the bird cherry is small in stature and not easily pitted, it is still mainly made into jam and used to distill brandy. With a steam juicer, they process wonderfully into delicious juice or an aromatic jelly is cooked.