Goji berries: how not to buy a fake

Goji berries are increasingly used for maintaining health and losing weight. However, nowadays there is a big risk of spending money not on a natural product, but on a fake. The editors of KHOCHU.ua looked into how to buy real goji berries and recognize a fake.

Recently, stories often happen when a person, constantly eating goji berries for weight loss, does not see positive changes in his health and appearance. Many people complain about individual intolerance and the fact that “berries simply don’t work for them.” Although, most often, the reason for this situation is that the purchased product is a fake.

Due to the growing popularity of goji berries, many fakes have appeared on the market. Most often they are barberry, cranberry or rose hip. Of course, there is nothing terrible for health in taking these fruits, but, of course, you cannot expect the effect of goji berries from them. To distinguish fake from real berries, follow simple rules.

CHECK THE COLOR

The first thing you should pay attention to when buying goji berries is the color. Real goji berries are dark red in color. It should be natural. Too bright red color indicates a fake. You can also lightly rub the berries in your hands; if a red mark remains, it means the fruits have been stained, which indicates the seller’s desire to deceive you.

The smell of goji is not cloying or pungent, but very delicate, pleasant to the sense of smell.

Try not to buy dried crushed berries, since such a consistency is very difficult to distinguish a fake.

PAY ATTENTION TO THE STRUCTURE AND TASTE

The fruits should not be sticky or too crushed. Real gojis hold their shape (long, flat) well. The size of the berry does not exceed 1.5 centimeters, however, it is never less than 1 centimeter. The berry itself should be dense. When compared with other fruits, the structure of goji berries is similar to high-quality raisins.

Inside the fruit there are yellow seeds (at least 10 pieces). Real berries taste sweet and sour: there should be no obvious bitterness or cloying. Their taste is moderate and pleasant. Also, goji leaves no aftertaste.

WATER TEST

If dry goji berries are poured with water, some of them should immediately float to the surface. If the berries remain at the bottom, it means you bought a fake. At the same time, the water in which goji is located turns yellow, and its taste becomes slightly sweet.

This trick won’t work with barberries or cranberries, and the taste will be completely different. Many experts advise that before you go shopping for goji berries, buy some ordinary barberry for comparison. The thing is that barberry is the one that most closely resembles goji in appearance (it’s not for nothing that they are called Chinese barberry). And its presence will help you more accurately understand where they are trying to sell you ordinary barberries under the guise of Chinese berries.

Goji berries speed up metabolism. If you watch your diet (without fanaticism, but try to eat carbohydrates in the first half of the day and proteins in the second), you can lose up to 8 kilograms in a couple of months.