Goji Berries

Recently, when I shop at various organic food stores, I noticed that there are many different nuts and dry snack food packages containing Goji berries. I was surprised and wondering why Goji Berries suddenly become a popular snack food. I knew of Goji berry since I was a child. My grandmother use them in herbal soups and grew the Goji plant as hedge shrub in our yard. She collected the small red berries in the Fall and dried them under the sun to preserved them for later use. My recollection of Goji berries are dry shriveled red berries similar to raisins except it is red. We always use them in soups and I have never eaten them raw. My grandmother, she lived to 94 year old, always told us that Goji berry is good for you, especially for your eye. While I was growing up, I ate Goji berry soups that she and my mother prepared. Surprisingly, the Goji berry soups tasted delicious because it always cooked together with chicken or pork bones and other herbs. I do have the recipes from my mother on how to cook Goji berry soup. However, I have not yet to eat it as a snack in its dried raw form.

Goji berry has been used for thousands of years in China, Tibet, and India as preventative traditional herbal medicine. In recent years, Goji berry appears to be a popular “star” in alternative medicine and sold as a healthy snack food and juice. The health food store sells dry Goji berry in trail mix or by itself as healthy snack food. It has a mild tangy taste and chewy texture like raisins or dry cranberry. In traditional herbal medicine, Goji berries used in tea and added into soups like my grandmother and my mother did. Now, it has also made into juice as healthy drink. Although the dry Goji berry is very inexpensive, the Goji juice is very pricey. The health benefits from Goji berry products are still needed to be proven.

Goji berry like many colored fruits and vegetables are rich in antioxidants especially carotenoids such as beta-carotene and zeaxanthin. These chemicals are beneficial to the eye and general health. Although my grandmother is not a researcher or scientist, she knew many years ago, by traditional wisdom passed down from generation to generation, Goji berry is good for your eye. Occasional consumption of Goji berry may be worthwhile.

We have planted a few Goji shrubs in our garden. I like to photograph the beautiful berries. The fresh red berries look like red Christmas Lights.

 Goji Plant and Berries

  Dry Raw Goji Berries

 Fresh Goji Berries - "Christmas Lights"