John Myers
Colorful is trumps – if you want to eat a healthy and balanced diet, different colored fruit and vegetables should be on your menu. In our list, you will find delicious blue fruits and vegetables. This is how you bring variety to your plate and even do something good for your health.
Blue or violet?
When it comes to blue fruits, this always means purple variants as well, because both are combined in one group. The plant pigments known as anthocyanins give fruit and vegetables their blue or violet color. Depending on the pH value of the arable soil, the color goes more in one direction or the other: the lower the pH value, the more reddish, the higher, i.e. more alkaline, the more bluish fruit and vegetables become. If you really want to produce blue fruit or vegetables, the soil would have to be extremely alkaline, i.e. contain a lot of bases. Since this was only possible through special fertilization, it is usually dispensed with. Whether blue, bluish, or violet – with the right fruits you hold real fruit and vegetable turbos for your health in your hands.
Inside and outside?
Not according to the motto hard shell, soft core, but rather a blue shell, blue inside – but that’s not always true. Fruit and vegetables that are blue on the outside are usually colored differently on the inside. Surely you have already noticed that blue fruits like blueberries tend to be whitish or at least very light on the inside. And blue vegetables usually have several shades to offer or are often only blue on the surface.
Blue fruit
Grapes
Definitely one of the classics when it comes to blue fruit. Blue grapes really provide power for your immune system and your cells. They can even prevent heart and circulatory diseases thanks to their valuable ingredients resveratrol and OPC (oligomeric procyanidins). Although the vitamin C content in this fruit is not that high, blue grapes still offer good protection against infectious diseases. Whether pure as a snack or in a fruit salad or rather in liquid form as juice is up to you.
Blackberries
With its great color, the delicious fruit not only goes well with muesli or a delicious smoothie bowl but also cuts a fine figure on a cake base. You can enjoy the berries without a guilty conscience because they contain little sugar, but a lot of fiber and lots of vitamins. Anthocyanins, the blue pigments, are also abundant and protect cells from free radicals.
Blueberries
Often referred to as a superfood, the fruit is a real health booster. Especially in summer, when local produce is available, the delicious fruit should be on your menu as often as possible. It is good for the immune system due to its high content of vitamins C and E, but also has a positive effect on your intestinal health. How about a fruity smoothie? Or would you rather enjoy your fruit pure?
Plums and prunes
Autumn time is the plum time! Or is it plum time? It doesn’t really matter, because it stays in the family and primarily has to do with the shape. Plums are round blue fruits, damsons rather oblong. Both contain many vitamins. Surely you’ve heard that plums are good for digestion? That’s right – pectin and cellulose in the fruit take care of that. If you want to bake a cake, it’s best to use plums. Plums with their softer flesh are suitable for making a puree from the fruit. Things get especially delicious with cinnamon. Be sure to try our vegan plum crumble or our fruity plum ketchup.
Currants
Sour is fun – opinions differ on blackcurrants (which glow dark blue). Some like the fruit pure or sprinkled with a bit of sugar, others only appreciate it as a juice or boiled down as an accompaniment to game dishes. If you like eating currants, you can look forward to an extremely high vitamin C content, because the sour fruit even beats lemons.
Tip: Give your favorite berry recipes a new splash of color! How about, for example, dark currants in our currant cake with sour cream?
Elderberries
What a beautiful picture when the elder blossoms, don’t you agree? But please be careful! Because the healthy elderberries on our blue fruit list are fruit that should not be eaten raw. It always has to be processed, usually used to make juice or jelly. With lots of minerals, vitamins, and of course anthocyanins, the elderberry contains valuable ingredients and can be used as a warmed juice for colds. If you like, you can also make liqueur from the fruit – a nice gift for dear friends.
Sloes
Don’t you know? These are blue fruits that grow on thorn bushes and can be processed in a similar way to elderberries. Whether juice or jam – sloes can be mixed well with other fruits. They can only be eaten after the first frost and are therefore a perfect health booster in winter. You can eat them raw, the soft flesh has a sweet taste. The seeds of the fruit must not be eaten under any circumstances.
Figs
Blue on the outside and bright red on the inside, the fig brings an impressive play of colors with it. The fruit tastes great on its own or with a cheese platter, but can also be used in the warm kitchen. Figs do not have many calories, but they do have a large portion of fiber, minerals, and vitamins. The fruit also tastes very good in dried form, for example as a digestive ingredient in your breakfast muesli. Or try something new and test our raclette pizza with figs and goat cheese for the next raclette evening.
Blue Vegetables
Aubergine
This vegetable is probably what most people mention first when it comes to blue vegetables. Many aubergines are used in the Mediterranean and oriental cuisine in particular. They can be stuffed and stewed, grilled, layered in casseroles, or simply fried. There are now even striped specimens of this vegetable. However, once cut open, the blaze of color quickly fades, as the flesh of aubergines is white.
Red cabbage
Or do you call the vegetable red cabbage? It doesn’t really matter! The round head of cabbage with its closely spaced leaves is a real beauty when cut open. It can be eaten raw in a salad or cooked as a side dish. For example with hearty meat dishes with sauce. In addition to the anthocyanins, which are typical for blue fruits, the delicious vegetables convince with lots of vitamin C, minerals, and iron.
Beans
No, don’t worry, we’re not blue! But some beans do. Blue beans, which strictly speaking have purple pods, can be bought as bush beans or pole beans. you have a garden Great, then the legumes are a great eye-catcher in the beds, which are otherwise dominated by shades of green. But then it stops with the splendor of color. Once in the hot water, the purple hue disappears and the bean turns green.
Peas
Now blue peas too? There are numerous varieties with purple pods that differ significantly in taste. But once the sleeve is off, it can’t get any greener. The peas themselves come in their usual color.
Primeval carrots
Aren’t carrots orange? Not always! Because the typical orange carrot has white, yellow, and violet relatives. It has a sweet taste and is absolutely juicy when eaten raw. What sets the vegetable apart is its high anthocyanin content. In addition, there are vitamins from B to E, which make the roots an extremely healthy vegetable.
Potatoes
Would you like a change in the monotony of potatoes? Then grab blue potatoes! These are ancient varieties that are mostly oval in shape and sometimes have beautiful marbling. The good thing is that the potatoes keep their beautiful blue color when they are cooked. Thanks to the phytochemicals that act as natural antioxidants, they have particularly good effects on your body.
Asparagus
If you’re kind of bored with white and green asparagus, you should try the purple variety! However, we do not mean the white vegetables, which are only discolored on the heads, but the purple asparagus. Never seen? Then you should keep an eye out at the market during asparagus season. It tastes similar to its green brother. If you want to preserve the beautiful purple color, it is best to serve the vegetables raw. Unfortunately, it is lost during cooking.
Kale
Are we okay? The name already screams GREEN! For some time now, however, the popular vegetable, which is mostly eaten in winter, has had purple siblings. In the new varieties with the same vitamin content, the ribs and – if the vegetables have had enough sun – the leaves are bluish in color. A nice splash of color and a great surprise if you want to invite your friends over for a kale dinner.
Beetroot
The healthy tuber also contains anthocyanins, which is why it scores with intense color. Beetroot not only looks very pretty but is also incredibly healthy. Thanks to valuable ingredients such as folic acid, vitamins, and minerals, it declares war on diseases. If it is regularly on the menu, it can even lower blood pressure.
Broccoli
Maybe you know the violet brother of the vegetables we know in green from a holiday in Italy? The vegetables with the colorful florets, which unfortunately lose their beautiful color and turn dark green when cooked, are not a rarity there but can be found much more frequently than here. Broccoli is very healthy due to the vitamins and minerals it contains and can also be eaten raw. How about the violet vegetables as a fine raw vegetable salad – then it can also inspire with its color.
Cauliflower
It was kind of clear, wasn’t it? If there’s purple broccoli, there’s bound to be purple cauliflower. Don’t worry, genetic engineering is not involved! The beautiful color comes from the anthocyanins found in vegetables, which are so good for our health. Unlike broccoli, you can preserve the color of cauliflower with a dash of vinegar in the cooking water. The color variety on the plate is guaranteed! Maybe together with blue potatoes in a delicious cauliflower casserole with potatoes?
Paprika
The traffic light colors green, yellow and red are supplemented by a blue variant. The vegetables can be so dark that they appear almost black. The pods taste particularly delicious when eaten raw. Under certain circumstances, they can lose their color strength during cooking. The vitamin-rich and crunchy vegetables look very nice on a colorful salad plate. It is best to combine peppers in different colors.
Kohlrabi
Last but not least comes the turn of the kohlrabi, which is popular both raw and cooked. In addition to the usual light green specimens, purple variants are also available. They are significantly more flavorful than their bright relatives. It’s a pity that the strong color is mainly limited to the skin and the vegetables inside are light. In the vegetable patch, however, the purple kohlrabi will definitely cause a stir!
Beautiful and healthy
Blue fruits from our list are not only eye-catchers in a colorful bowl of fruit and on the plate. You can use it to influence your appearance as well as promote your health. The anthocyanins contained in blue fruit and vegetables not only have a positive effect on your eyesight and, in the best case, can even improve it. They also ensure beautifully smooth and firm skin. As far as health aspects are concerned, they have a vascular protective effect. They can also prevent inflammation in the body or have a positive effect on it. With its polyphenols, blue fruit and vegetables ensure that the “dangerous” free radicals are repelled and cannot cause any damage to your body.
