The Auspiciousness Of Anthocyanin

This article explores the many health benefits of foods that contain anthocyanins, offering recipe ideas and info on the functions and benefits this compound provides for your garden crops

freshly harvested blueberries, serviceberries and saskatoon berries from our garden (all containing high levels of Anthocyanins)

When Mother Earth paints plants, fruit, flowers and veggies in luscious blues, lavish purples and rich reds she is dipping her paint brush in Anthocyanin.

It is the compound that makes your blueberries blue, your elderberries purple, your strawberries red and your blackberries ‘black’.

Anthocyanins are a type of flavonoid, a class of compounds with antioxidant effects. Found naturally in a number of foods, anthocyanins are the pigments that give red, purple, and blue plants their rich coloring. In addition to acting as antioxidants and fighting free radicals, anthocyanins offer anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, and anti-cancer benefits. To date, more than 635 different anthocyanins have been identified.

I make a point of growing a wide range of crops rich in Anthocyanins because not only do they benefit your health when you eat them, but they also provide very practical benefits for the plants that produce them as well.

ripe freshly harvested garden produce including tomatoes with high levels of Anthocyanin in the skin. The smaller purple skinned tomatoes in this picture are called Indigo Rose and the larger ones are called Indigo Apple

In plants, anthocyanins play a role not only in reproduction, by attracting pollinators and seed dispersers, but also in protection against various abiotic and biotic stresses.

Borage flowers in our garden (exhibiting different levels of Anthocyanin Biosynthesis)

Abiotic stress is defined as the negative impact of non-living factors on living organisms in a specific environment (such as drought, high soil salinity, heat, cold, oxidative stress and heavy metal toxicity) which in the context of farming/gardening, limit crop productivity.

a close up of a Red Russian Kale leaf after first frost, which triggered increased Anthocyanin Biosynthesis in the veins of the leaves

Biotic stresses are defined as an adverse condition in which plant cannot sustain its normal growth due to the interaction with deleterious microorganisms (such as pathogenic fungi, bacteria, viruses, viroids, phytoplasma, and nematodes).

In essence, plants produce phytochemicals like anthocyanin as a protective mechanism; phytochemicals help build plants’ resistance and protect them from being destroyed.

This image shows an immature “Black Beauty” tomato in our garden. I have found these varieties with high levels of Anthocyanin expression are much more resistant to fungal blights and other types of pathogenic organisms.

That being said, whether it is with the human diet or the color of crops one grows, diversity is key to resilience. Thus while I do grow quite a few Anthocyanin rich crops we also make a point of growing crops that express the rest of the color spectrum of antioxidants and other types of phytochemicals (orange, yellow, green etc).

an ear of freshly harvested young Hopi Blue Corn from our garden (not fully ripened showing kernels with varying concentrations of anthocyanin ) with some other crops in the background

What are the health benefits of anthocyanins? Some of the conditions that research suggests anthocyanins help prevent include:

-Cardiovascular disease and risk factors, such as high blood pressure and hardening of the arteries

-Cancer

-Impaired immune function

-Diabetes

-Neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia

-Symptoms of poor cognitive function, including poor memory and trouble concentrating

-Fatigue

-Poor recovery from exercise/physical activity

-Vision loss

-Obesity

a close up of some homegrown Scarlett Runner Beans from our garden (which have a high Anthocyanin content)

Here is a list that explores of some of the impressive human health benefits Anthocyanins have to offer:

1. Prevents Heart Disease

Anthocyanins enhance heart health, according to a 2010 report published in Nutrition Reviews. The report's authors note that anthocyanins improve cholesterol levels and blood sugar metabolism, as well as fight oxidative stress (a process known to play a role in heart disease).

Many studies have found that having just one to two (or ideally more) servings of anythocyanin-rich foods per day can protect you from problems from high blood pressure and arteriosclerosis. While it’s great to have antioxidant-rich foods every day, even having them several times per week can improve your health. One finding from the Iowa Women’s Health Study, which included more than 34,000 postmenopausal women, found that women who consumed anthocyanin-rich strawberries and blueberries once per week or more experienced significant reductions in risk of death from heart disease/coronary artery disease.

Another large body of research from the Nurses’ Health Study I and II, which followed over 46,000 women from and 23,000 men for more than a decade, found evidence that the those with the highest intakes of anthocyanin (especially from blueberries and strawberries) had a significantly decreased risk for developing hypertension, myocardial infarction and/or having a heart attack compared to those with the lowest intake. This was true even after controlling for other factors like exercise level, family history and BMI.

Anthocyanin benefits for diabetes and pancreatic disorders have also been unearthed in recent years, and again the efficacy is attributed to the multiple, simultaneous biological effects these pigments cause in the body, including prevention of generation of free radicals, decreased lipid peroxidation, reduced pancreatic swelling, and decreased blood sugar concentrations in urine and blood serum

purple snap peas and red russian kale freshly harvested from the garden

2. Prevents Cancer

Anthocyanins aid in the prevention of breast cancer, according to a laboratory study published in Phytotherapy Research in 2010. In test-tube experiments, scientists showed that anthocyanins extracted from blueberries helped inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells.

Research suggests that anthocyanin can decrease the risk of developing various types of cancer due to its antioxidant, anticarcinogenic and anti-inflammatory effects. This has been demonstrated in both in vitro and in vivo research trials in humans and animals. Studies show that anthocyanins have the ability to naturally fight cancer by blocking cell proliferation and inhibiting tumor formation by interfering with the process of carcinogenesis. One way anthocyanins inhibit tumorigenesis by blocking activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways.

slicing up some purple cabbage for making saurkraut

3. Fights Obesity

Research suggests that anthocyanins protect against obesity. In a 2008 study from the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, scientists found that mice fed an anthocyanin-enriched high-fat diet for eight weeks gained less weight than mice fed a high-fat diet without anthocyanins.

Anthocyanins can improve the metabolic control involved in obesity by reducing lipogenesis, oxidative stress, and inflammation. This can boost the speed of lipolysis and thermogenesis, regulate satiety, and reduce body fat accumulation.

Purple cabbage cores, leaves and juice (the picture is looking in the top of a large jar of sauerkraut being made, the cores weigh down the large leaves which hold down the shredded salted cabbage below holding everything down in the brine for proper fermentation)

a large cookie jar I repurposed to use as a fermentation crock filled with shredded and salted purple cabbage that is in the process of transforming into Anthocyanin rich sauerkraut. The strong Anthocyanin content can be seen clearly in the brine.

4. Anti-inflammatory

Fruits, such as berries (and some vegetables) contain polyphenol compounds that offer anti-inflammatory activity in humans. Among the most notable polyphenols in berries are anthocyanins, responsible for their distinctive colors of red, blue, and purple. Berries have been studied widely for their antioxidant properties. Preclinical data suggest important effects on inflammatory pathways. Correspondingly, the effects of berries, including extracts and purified anthocyanins, have been the subject of a number of human trials. These studies discovered that the polyphenols in the anthocyanins group are especially effective at decreasing and modulating the inflammation response in a number of different areas in the human body.

a close up of an unripe Indigo Apple tomato in our garden

5. Supports Optimal Gut Health

Research suggests that anthocyanins have positive effects on gut health when they interact with microflora, which can help decrease inflammatory markers associated with many chronic diseases, plus they can support hormonal balance.

In several studies, Anthocyanin supplementation demonstrated positive effects on intestinal health. The main results identified were an increase of Bacteroidetes and a decrease of Firmicutes, an increase of short chain fatty acids production, a decrease of intestinal pH and intestinal permeability, an increase of the number of goblet cells and tight junction proteins and villi improvement in length or height.

a close up of a ripe Indigo Apple Tomato in our garden

6. Boosts Immune System

Anthocyanin bioflavonoids provide protection from DNA damage and lipid peroxidation, plus they have anti-inflammatory effects and help optimize production of cytokines that regulate the immune responses. They have also been shown to support hormonal balance by reducing estrogenic activity, help regulate enzyme production that aids nutrient absorption, and strengthen cell membranes by making them less permeable and fragile.

close up of a cut up ripe Indigo Apple tomato (showing Anthocyanin is expressed in the skin and a think layer of flesh as well)

7. Improves Brain Function

Research suggests that flavonoids, including anthocyanins, have the ability to enhance memory and help prevent age-related declines in mental functioning. Extensive research in animals has shown that the flavonoids found in fruit and fruit juices can improve memory and slow age-related loss of cognitive functioning.

Several other studies have found that berries, most notably blueberries, which are rich in anthocyanins, can effectively reverse age-related deficits in certain aspects of working memory. Anthocyanins and other flavonoids work by inhibiting neuroinflammation, activating synaptic signaling, and improving blood flow to the brain. Some dietary anthocyanins can cross the blood-brain barrier, allowing the compounds to have a direct beneficial effect.

The authors of a recent review on the subject suggested that the consumption of flavonoid-rich fruits such as berries, apples, and citrus throughout life potentially could limit or even reverse age-dependent deteriorations in memory and cognition.

Another study out of Korea found that administration of isolated anthocyanins from purple sweet potato enhanced cognitive performance and inhibited lipid peroxidation in brain tissues in mice.

close up of blueberries starting to ripen in our garden showing different levels of Anthocyanin Biosynthesis

8. Enhanced Exercise Performance and Recovery

Antioxidants improve physical performance by lowering exhaustion and the negative effects of excessive oxygen and radical accumulation during physical activities. In one double-blinded clinical trial that involved 54 female and male athletes, when one group was given 100 milligrams of anthocyanin pills per day for six weeks, the participants in that group were found to experience a significant improvement in their VO2 max (maximal oxygen consumption) compared to the second group that received 100 milligrams of placebo pills daily.

Some studies have also found that fruit juices that contain anthocyanin, such as 100 percent tart cherry and blueberry juices, have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects that wind up positively influencing muscle damage following exercise and the ability to properly recover.

Here is another link to research on how eating Blackcurrants enhances performance and recovery.

Black Currents starting to ripen up in our garden

9. Enhanced Vision and Eye Health

Anthocyanin has been shown to help enhance night vision and overall vision by protecting the eyes from free radical damage. One study found that oral intake of anthocyanosides from black currants resulted in significantly improved night vision in adults. Research suggests that enhancement of rhodopsin regeneration and protection against inflammation are at least two mechanism by which anthocyanins improve sight and protect the eyes.

Using Anthocyanins for Health:

Getting your fill of anthocyanin-rich fruits and vegetables help boost your overall health by offering up an array of nutrients.

What veggies and fruits contain anthocyanins? Some of the top anthocyanin foods include:

Berries, especially black currants, elderberries, black goji berries, cranberries, tart cherry juice, blueberries, black raspberries, blackberries and strawberries. The freshly squeezed juices of these fruits are also a source. Certain “superfood” berries also contain anthocyanin, including elderberry, hawthorn berry, loganberry and açai berry.

Anthocyanin rich carrots (“Atomic Red” and “Black Nebula”) with some young ginger rhizome freshly harvested from the garden

10. Optimizes Mitochondrial Health and increases the production of adult stem cells:

Mitochondria are the powerhouses of your cells, generating energy to fuel your cells’ biochemical reactions. Via optimizing their function and promoting their rates of regeneration within your body you are building a solid foundation for health, vibrancy and longevity from the cellular level up.

Sufficient mitochondrial biogenesis (the process by which cells increase mitochondrial numbers) is necessary for efficient cell function and haemostasis, which is dependent on the regulation of ATP generation and maintenance of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). These procedures play a primary role in the processes of inflammation, aging, cancer, metabolic diseases, and neurodegeneration. Polyphenols (such as anthocyanins) are considered as the main components of plants, fruits, and natural extracts with proven therapeutic effects during the time. These components regulate the intracellular pathways of mitochondrial biogenesis.

In vitro studies showed that anthocyanins elevate the expression of mitochondrial TFAM, PGC-1α, and NRF-2. These increased levels affect the phosphorylation of AMPK and increase rates of mitochondrial biogenesis.

The studies available also support the ability of anthocyanins to prevent damage to mitochondria and to sustain its function. Berry extracts also demonstrated positive outcomes in different models of neurodegeneration, endothelial dysfunction, myocardial damage, metabolic disorders, longevity, and cancer. At the molecular level, major anthocyanins can modulate the expression and activity of mitochondrial proteins, apoptotic and biogenesis factors, antioxidant defenses, inflammation, and the AMPK pathway. Noteworthy, anthocyanins could balance abnormalities in ROS production, respiration, and mitochondrial fragmentation in cells exposed to toxicants or oxidizing agents.

close up of a sliced Black Nebula carrot

11. Helps mitigate the detrimental effects of heavy metal poisoning and assists with chelation:

When heavy metals enter the body (whether through pesticides, personal hygene products, kitchenware, vaccines, more vaccines, experimental gene therapy injections that are loaded with graphene and/or stratospheric aerosol injection programs , they are introduced into body cells, where they start to disrupt the normal function of proteins and DNA. As a result, the damage is not restricted to particular organs but is multi-systemic.

In the central nervous system, heavy metals can cause mental disorders and degenerative neurological disorders. In addition, damage to blood vessels may lead to hepatic, renal, and cardiac damage. Long-term exposure to heavy metals can cause mutations in cells’ DNA, leading to cancer.

Our bodies can’t effectively excrete heavy metals in their elemental forms. The use of chelating agents makes the elimination process more efficient.

Chelation therapy is more efficient when it’s combined with antioxidants (such as anthocyanins).

Through incorporating antioxidant-rich foods into your diet, you can reduce the damage that heavy metals cause in the body and help to eliminate heavy metals as well.

close up of Hopi Blue Corn freshly harvested from our garden

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It is also worth noting that long before scientific studies (many of which I linked above) were conducted to isolate and investigate anthocynanin, foods containing this antioxidant were used in folk medicines around the world to improve health and fight disease. Traditional cultures have known about the healing effects of anthocyanin foods for centuries. For example, historically, red, blue, black and purple foods have been viewed as remedies for conditions like liver disfunction, hypertension, vision disorders, microbial infections, fatigue, anxiety and diarrhea.

Anthocyanin in the garden and in the forest:

ultra close up of a borage blossom exhibiting varying levels of Anthocyanin Biosynthesis

I always felt instinctively drawn to source out heirloom seeds to grow purple and blue crops as these colors appeal to my eyes very much, but once I understood the biological functions of the compound responsible for that color being present in plants my strategy for sourcing out (and breeding) crops with this attribute was brought into a new degree of focus.

There is accumulating evidence that anthocyanins have health-promoting properties (not only for humans after being ingested but also health promoting properties within living plants) which makes anthocyanin metabolism an important target for heirloom veggie, fruit and herb breeders.

close up of a Black Beauty tomato in our garden

Throughout several years selectively breeding for higher anthocyanin expression I have noticed increased resistance to powdery mildew and blight.

Anthocyanins, are also pigments responsible for spectacular displays of vermilion in the leaves of deciduous trees (autumn colors) as well as in some red-leafed plants and trees that have that color year round.

close up of Hopi Red Dye Amaranth (which is one type of plant that expresses Anthocyanin in its leaves year round)

They occur in habitats as diverse as the Antarctic shoreline and the tropical rainforests, are as abundant in arid deserts as in freshwater lakes, and seem equally at home in the light-starved forest understorey as in the sun-drenched canopy. In many red-leafed species the manufacture of red pigments is transient, often associated with a discrete developmental stage such as in the growth flushes of tropical trees, or in the senescing autumn foliage of deciduous trees. In certain other species, however, red pigments can persist throughout the leaf's entire life span, or else they are induced and retained only after the plant has experienced stress. Functional implications of these red pigments in plants have been the focus of a significant research output over the past decade.

For most vascular plants, red colouration in leaves is achieved by anthocyanins, predominantly cyanidin-3-O-glucoside, as a solution located in the vacuole of the plant cell.

this image shows what my hand looked like (being stained by the antioxidant anthocyanin) after rubbing the mature Hopi Red Dye Amaranth flowerheads between my hands (to separate the seeds from the chaff). This shows the immense potential for dying cloth and coloring food with health enhancing anthocyanins

Some had long been considered the production of Anthocyanins to be an extravagant waste of a plant's resources. Contemporary research, in contrast, has begun to show that the pigments can significantly influence the way a leaf responds to environmental stress. Anthocyanins have been implicated in tolerance to stressors as diverse as drought, UV-B, and heavy metals, as well as resistance to herbivores and pathogens. By absorbing high-energy quanta, anthocyanic cell vacuoles both protect chloroplasts from the photoinhibitory and photooxidative effects of strong light, and prevent the catabolism of photolabile defence compounds. Anthocyanins also mitigate photooxidative injury in leaves by efficiently scavenging free radicals and reactive oxygen species. Far from being a useless by-product of the flavonoid pathway, these red pigments may in some instances be critical for plant survival.

Red Russian Kale surviving in our garden January 20th, 2020 (even after being burred in snow and frozen many times).

the small leaves that still bounce back after thawing can still be used in salads and retain their fresh texture. Flavor is sweeter and nuttier than summer kale, and anthocyanin content is significantly increased.

Anthocyanins, for example, are associated with enhanced resistance to the effects of chilling and freezing, to heavy metal contamination, to desiccation, and to wounding.

close up of a productive black goji vine section in our garden (showing blossoms and berries at several stages of growth)

a close up of a developing black goji berry (beginning to size up and fill with anthocyanin)

black goji berries ripening on the vine in our garden

a ripe black goji berry cut in half (close up) revealing hollow seed filled cavity inside (i had already taken most of the seeds out of one half of the berry with a knife before taking this pic)

The red colours of anthocyanic leaves have also been proposed both to attract and to repel various animal species. Burns and Dalen postulated that red-orange autumn foliage of Canadian shrub species would accentuate the conspicuousness of black-coloured fruits to birds. Experimental manipulations of fruit and background foliage colours confirmed that the black-red contrast was indeed an effective enhancer of fruit-removal rates by avian dispersers. This means that some plants utilize anthocyanic foliage as a means to increase their rates of reproduction and the efficiency of seed dispersal.

ultra close up of a Persian Basil seedling setting its first set of true leaves

Certain insects, on the other hand, seem to preferentially avoid eating red-pigmented leaves. California maple aphids, for example, readily colonise yellow-orange leaves of Japanese maples, yet they largely ignore red-leafed individuals. Similarly, leaf-cutting ants from the tropical forests of Panama browse significantly less on red leaves than on green leaves. To these and other insects the anthocyanins may serve as aposematic signals of defensive commitment against herbivory.

close up of borage flower in our garden

As noted above, anthocyanins also play an important role in plant stress tolerance, such as resistance to low temperature, drought, high light as well as nutrient starvation. Given we live in a time where we are dealing with climate instability, geoengineering and the destabilization of centralized infrastructures having plants that are drought tolerant and resilient to fluctuating growing conditions is becoming increasingly important.

Thus, I feel that there is immense untapped potential in strategizing for incorporating not only three dimensional stacking of functions (with plant guilds) in food forest and agro-forestry designs but also stacking functions offered through planning strategically for stacking functions offered by specific spectrums of colors (produced in the plant’s foliage and flowers) to optimize the resilience and efficiency of self-sustaining, decentralized perpetual food production systems. This could add a new dimension to food forest design that begins to account for how specific colors influence not only the resilience of plants, but also the bevavior of beneficial insects, birds, predators and so called “pest pressures” as well.

"Black Coat" Runner beans (very high in antioxidants, they go from pink to purple to deep indigo blue to black as they mature)

Anthocyanins are arguably the most versatile of all pigments, their multifarious roles in plant stress responses stemming as much from the physicochemical property of light absorption as from their unique combination of biochemical reactivities.

"Black Coat" Runner beans (at different stages of maturity)

"Black Coat" Runner beans at different stages of maturity (not my image)

Thus, when I save seeds from plants in our garden, I closely observe which plants are expressing higher concentrations of anthocyanin and strategically save seeds from those plants (as to encourage this genetic attribute to become dominant and stabilized in future generations). This has helped me to co-create some extremely resilient varieties of kale, tomatoes, peppers and cannabis (that are more resilient than their non-purple cousins).

freshly harvested homegrown Hopi Blue corn

This results in not only very pretty looking plants, but also very tough plants that produce crops that offer a great many health benefits. Therefore, breeding (or sourcing out seeds for) heirloom crops that have high levels of anthocyanin stacks a lot of functions (as they say in permaculture design).

seperating mature Hopi Blue corn kernels for saving seed for next year (and/or cooking with to make things like blue tortillas)

Anthocyanin in the kitchen:

I love creating recipes with anthocyanin rich berries, fruits, veggies, seeds and herbs. The opportunities for creating poetry for the eyes is huge and when one also takes the health benefits into account it becomes clear that adding these foods to your diet is a win win. I will first list some foods that contain anthocyanins below and then share some pics of recipe we like to enjoy that use ingredients rich in anthocyanins to help inspire your own colorful creations.

This picture shows the jar filled with Black Goji (Lycium ruthenicum) berries fermenting in raw organic honey (after turning over the jar to coat all the berries in honey, revealing the potent antioxidants that are beginning to be drawn out of the berries and infused into the liquid honey that is pouring down the sides of the jar)

this picture shows the lid from the jar filled with Black Goji (Lycium ruthenicum) berries fermenting in raw organic honey (after opening the jar to "burp" it) revealing the potent antioxidants that are beginning to be drawn out of the berries and infused into the liquid honey that was stuck on the lid)

the black goji infused honey is delicious on plain non-dairy yogurt with hemp granola

Black Goji Berry Tea (a few seconds after adding hot water to a handful of dried black goji berries)

about 20 seconds after adding hot water

this shows the transformation over about 20 seconds where the hot water is extracting the anthocyanin from a handful of black goji berries (expressed as blue-then purple) after which I add a few drops of lemon to the cup of Black Goji tea which shifts the PH and changes to color into the pink range in the last few pics.

Black Nebula Carrots fermenting in a salt brine with homegrown ginger rhizome

pure anthocyanin (one drop of fermented "Black Nebula" carrot brine dropped into a glass of water)

Some excellent dietary sources of anthocyanin include:

Fruits, vegetables and grains with red, purple, blue or black hues tend to be rich in anthocyanins. Berries have the highest levels, particularly black elderberries, black goji berries and aronia berries (chokeberries). Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries are also great sources. Additional foods with a high anthocyanin punch include:

home grown Elderberries ripening up in our garden

Fruits: Black plums, blood oranges, cherries, black and red grapes and pomegranates.

Vegetables: Red cabbage, red onions, red radishes, purple cauliflower, purple corn and the skin of purple eggplant.

a big watermelon radish growing in our garden

some of the ingredients that went into our autumn 2020 batch of Purple Dragon Chi (including dried homegrown Black Goji Berries, Red Dusle seaweed and purple cabbage)

bruised kimchi ingredients starting to release juices and ready to add to jar to ferment

sliced and bruised garden veggies being prepared to make Kimch

a jar of Purple Dragon Chi (day 2 of fermentation)

Legumes and rice: Black beans, black rice and black soybeans.

organic black rice (which we use in our miso soups, stir-fries and to make purple pakora/dosa batter

blending the organic black forbidden rice, mohogany rice and wild rice (which was soaked overnight and triple rinsed first) to make one component of the Purple Dosa/Pakora batter.

adding the blended rice to the Split pea, Golden Giant Amaranth seed and lentil batter (before fermenting to make the finished batter)

mixing the blended rice into the Split pea, Golden Giant Amaranth seed and lentil batter (before fermenting to make the finished batter)

This is right after the unfermented batter was added to the jar and put in a warm part of the kitchen to begin spontaneously fermenting

As you can see I underestimated how fast and how much this batter would rise (I ended up putting some in a bowl covered with a damp towel to finish fermenting)

covering some bell pepper pieces in Purple Dosa batter before frying

Purple Dosa Battered Veggies after being fried in organic coconut oil (red bell pepper, home grown shiitake mushrooms, sweet potato and broccoli)

adding diced ingredients to another portion of the left over batter the next day to make Purple Dosa Pakoras

adding diced ingredients to another portion of the left over batter the next day to make Purple Dosa Pakoras

after mixing, ready to be scooped out and fried in oil

Purple Dosa Pakoras (after being fried in organic coconut oil)

Legumes and rice: Black beans, black rice and black soybeans.

freshly harvested homegrown Hokkaido Black soy beans. These are very high in anthocyanin and we like to sprout them and then cook to use in wontons, spring rolls, stews and for making homemade miso paste.

Beverages: Grape juice, purple carrot juice and wine

This picture shows 4 different types of fermentation which we use in our kitchen in our kitchen. Each of these items included homegrown ingredients with Anthocyanin content. 1. The brightly colored jar in the center (garlic, turmeric, ginger and peppercorns in a salt brine) is a 'wild' (aka spontaneously initiated) fermentation that involves many strains of native L.A.B. (lactic acid bacteria). 2. The smaller jars (on either side) are part of an experimental miso batch (containing cooked amaranth seed, black soy beans, 'trail of tears' beans, seaweed and koji infused rice). They are cultured ferments (meaning I used previously established colonies of specific beneficial organisms from a source outside the jars to initiate fermentation). Those jars involve Koji mold (Aspergillus oryzae) and various species of L.A.B. that are well suited for fermenting legumes and grains. 3. The jug on the left (behind the jars) is a strawberry, blueberry, raspberry mead that is a "wild" ferment (fermentation was initiated via encouraging native yeasts present in/on the raw honey and berries used to proliferate and begin transforming the sugars in the fruit and from the honey into alcohol). That jug inevitably involves several species of dominant yeasts that were present in the honey (collected by the bees from flowers) and on the skin of the organic berries. It will result in a light and sweet mead enjoyed at a younger stage. 4. The jug on the right (behind the jars) is an Elderberry and Black Goji Berry mead that I started using store bought Champaign yeast (as it can convert higher ratios of honey to water into alcohol, resulting in 16% plus ABV.. resulting in a "dry mead" with great shelf life). That jug involves a single species of yeast (Saccharomyces bayanus).

(the video above shows one of our batches of homemade Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) and Black Goji Berry (Lycium ruthenicum) mead on its third day of fermentation)

Other foods and medicine plants with high levels of anthocyanin include:

-Purple/black tomatoes

Indigo Rose tomatoes ripening in our garden

-Red Russian Kale

super close up of the veins in a Red Russian Kale leaf (showing increased anthocyanin expression after a cold night)

-Purple leafed Tulsi (aka Krishna Tulsi)

-Echinacea purpurea (Purple Cone Flower)

-Purple Sweet Potatoes

-”Ramps” aka wild leeks (Allium tricoccum)

Ramps (aka Wild Leeks) Allium tricoccum shoots emerging in Early spring in a forest near where we live

freshly harvested Ramp (aka Wild Leek) Allium tricoccum leaves. In the wild, I usually just harvest one leaf from each plant and so the plants can regenerate and continue to proliferate as they have been over harvested in our area. I have also now begun cultivating them in our garden so we can harvest bulbs as well.

- Purple and Red leafed Hosta shoots

young hosta shoots emerging in our garden (yes they are edible! :) )

This is the stage at which hosta shoot begin being less tasty as they mature more, so harvest them for eating before they look like this

freshly harvested hosta shoots and ramps

an experimental fermented preserve that used the last of our final 2022 ramp harvest (and some other seasonal foraged/garden abundances). It included Hosta Shoots, Turkey Tail Mushrooms, Dried heirloom chilis, fresh ginger rhizome, fresh turmeric rhizome, dried tulsi flowers/leaves, black peppercorns and Echinacea root. The idea was to create a sort of 'super spring probiotic fire cider' type deal with a potent brine brimming with medicinal compounds, flavor and spring time vibrations. I also provided preserved tasty snacks and interesting condiment ingredients.

another experimental ferment I did with slightly less extreme ingredients. I make a point of trying experimental fermentation recipes like this each year to hopefully expand the list of potential uses of the plants already growing on our property. The jar above involved "wild" fermenting some hasta shoots (several varieties) with ostrich fern fiddle-heads (and some onions).

-Red and Purple leafed Amaranth

-Red Dulse Seaweed (Red arils of Pithecellobium dulce fruit)

-Purple Fleshed Radishes

a watermelon radish from the garden cut open

-Certain types of apples, (especially wild types, and/or many crabapple varieties)

a close up of “Dreamweaver” crabapple blossoms blooming in our yard. This tree provides not only visual appeal (poetry for the eyes and nose) and nectar for pollinators but also antioxidant rich fruit for snacking and preserving.

“Dreamweaver” crabapples beginning to form on our tree.

ripe Dreamweaver crabapples (they are actually surprisingly sweet for crabapples with only a slight tang of acidity)

-Blood oranges

-Blue corn

some of our homegrown Hopi Blue corn freshly harvested from our Three Sisters garden patch (2021) the lighter colored one I am holding in my hand is at the stage of maturity where it could be boiled or roasted and eaten as ‘sweet corn’ where as the darker ones would be used to make Masa for creating chips, tortillas and beverages such as Bolivian Api and Mayan Xocolatl (shown in pics below).

-Cacao Beans (seeds of the theobroma cacao tree)

my wife holding a handful of fermented/dried Theobroma Cacao seeds.. aka 'The Food Of The Gods' (pure and unadulterated)

a close up of some fermented cacao seeds

some of the ingredients that went into our take on Mayan Xocolatl

Xocolatl (Mayan style) which includes ground Hopi Blue Corn kernels from our garden.

-Purple and black carrots

sliced Black Nebula carrots mixed in with other veggies

-Chaga Mushrooms

-Lichens (such as Flavoparmelia caperata)

-Butterfly Pea Flowers

One of our butterfly pea vines opening it's first bloom 2021. These blossoms can be used to make tea or iced beverages rich in antioxidants

Butterfly Pea blossom tea changing color after adding lemon juice to shift the PH

-Edible flowers and herbs, including purple mint, red clover, purple ‘bee balm’ (bergamot plant), Borage, Chrysanthemums, purple --passion flower, purple sage, common violet, Persian Basil, Thai Basil and lavender

I went foraging in what most people would consider to be a purely ornamental garden and harvested this bounty of edible flowers and fruit (most of which have a high Anthocyanin content) . Several of these edible items were perceived as unwanted "weeds" in that landscape and the others were planted just for looking at. Some of these items are actually extremely nutritious (such as the Amarnath, Crabapples, Chrysanthemums, Borage flowers and Dogwood fruit) and in times when many of us are feeling the strain of exponentially increasing grocery store bills, I thought sharing this might help ease the pressure a bit (for those of you motivated enough to go foraging like I did and/or strategize accordingly for a future garden space that someone in your life has designated for "ornamental only plants" 😉 The flavor of some of these items (such as the crabapples) is tangy and/or bitter, but our while our modern westernized palate (that has been conditioned by the proliferation of homogenized, processed, high sugar foods) may not be accustomed to the bright and intense flavors of the wild cousins of our domesticated staple crops, the nutrients contained within them is far superior to that which is bred for uniformity, shelf life and mass produced which ends up in our grocery stores. Research (such as this and this )shows that wild varieties of apples are vastly more nutritious than cultivated varieties (like you get in a grocery store). In fact, wild apples, depending on the variety, have up to 475 times more phytonutrients than many cultivated varieties. The intense nutrient density of some crabapples is quite visually obvious as the flesh is brightly colored with anthocyanins and carotenoids (as can be discerned if you look closely in the pic below at the cut-open fruit).

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Now you can see how when you plan a garden (or a meal) that includes naturally occurring purples, blues and reds you are co-creating something that promises success and good fortune (both in the context of your garden’s health and in the context of the health and longevity of your body).

I hope you enjoyed this exploration of the many health benefits, gardening strategy potentials and biological functions of Anthocyanins.

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The material above was an excerpt from Recipes For Reciprocity.

I recently had to cut some of the material above from the final edit of my soon to be published book due to printing budget constraints (but I wanted to share the material here for free so that at the very least people who are interested can benefit from the research and info).

I will be including many recipes in my upcoming book that incorporate the beautiful color, potent nutritional benefits and delicious flavor of Anthocyanin rich foods.

May you dream of future meals, preserves and garden designs offering rich tones of purple and blue and may this information help you to cultivate resilience, longevity health sovereignty.