Dimitris Platanos is a young Producer of Aronia Organic Cultivation in Akri Elassona. He started a few years ago to cultivate and produce aronia with a view of the imposing Olympus, in a green location while packaging and standardizing his product, creating wonderful flavors for lovers of this miraculous leafy fruit that normalizes blood pressure and helps fight hypertension . Dimitris Platanos spoke to our magazine, “Olympia Dromena” about the organic product he produces:
-Dimitris, how many years have you been cultivating aronia and at what altitude?
– Since 2016, our farm has been located on privately owned land in the mountain village of Akri Elassonas, at an altitude of approximately 1100 meters, and is active in the production of ARONIA fruits, certified organic.
-Why organic grapes and not conventional ones?
-My first thought was to be able to give my child as well as the world a very healthy fruit, as we cannot talk about a fruit with healing properties recognized internationally as “nature’s medicine”, a superfood and the cultivation method to don’t be organic.
-What packages do you standardize and how well-known are aronias in the province?
-It is a fruit mostly unknown in our province, so I try to make people know it by going to the villages and talking to the people about its healing properties. In addition to the fresh aronia fruit which is available already at the end of August, I prepare the dried aronia fruit (aronia raisin) by drying it in the sun as well as aronia tea which will be available shortly. We did some tests to process the fruit into juice, jam, dessert, liqueur… There will be more…!
-What are the beneficial properties of the Aronia fruit?
– Aronia fruit belongs to the category of superfoods. It is a fruit with healing properties recognized internationally as “nature’s medicine”, as it is rich in natural antioxidants/flavonoids (anthocyanin, tannin), vitamins (A, B, B2, B6, B9, B5, E, K, P and C ) and metallic elements. The Beneficial Properties & Nutritional Value of Aronia are as follows:
-Helps with heart diseases
– Regulates blood pressure
-It has anti-inflammatory properties and fights viruses
-Reduces blood sugar levels
-Helps in the production of good cholesterol
-Protects the urinary system
-Helps digestion and strengthens memory
-Has beneficial effects on the liver and kidneys as well as a beneficial effect against the pancreas
-Helps with stress which is responsible for the birth of various diseases (ulcerative colitis, Alzheimer’s…)
-It has an anti-cancer effect due to the anthocyanins it contains
-Rich source of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals
Source: elassona-city.gr