"Chokecherries that you eat by the handful are excellent; it’s like tossing down a handful of vitamin pills, I guess. But, according to experts, wine made from the berries is full of healthy flavonoids. I am not a drinker, so I decided this year I would make chokecherry juice as soon as I find a supply.
I learned this information about the nutritional value of chokecherries from the U.S. Department of Agriculture lab in Grand Forks. They are working toward finding the nutritional value in products grown in our region.
This summer, I had a small part in a corn experiment with the Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center. It was done with the help of some American Indian students. I supplied dried corn.
The researcher was Whitney Hosie, White Shield, N.D., a student from United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck. She was asked what food is a staple in her home. She said corn without hesitation, according to Jennifer Follett, research nutritionist with the USDA, so corn became the subject of the research.
The Sahnish (Arikara) people brought corn from the south and helped it grow in cooler climates. The tribe has Sacred Bundles called “Mother Corn,” and with the bundle, the story of how we received corn is told.
The researchers aimed to find the most nutritional way to fix corn soup. Corn soup, the most common method of eating corn, and made by traditional methods, is high in calories. What the USDA wanted to do was find a way to keep the tradition method but lower the calorie count."
Get the Story:Dorreen Yellow Bird: Traditional foods get a make-over (The Grand Forks Herald 8/6)
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