There is a new fruit on the market which makes other anti-oxidant fruit look like wimps: it’s called the aronia berry and, according to research, it has more antioxidant muscle than just about any other kind of fruit.

Also known as the chokeberry due to the way European settlers in North America reacted when they ate it; the new name bears no preconceived negative connotations, and comes from its Latin name Aronia melanocarpa.

Native to North America, aronia was introduced to eastern Europe and Russia in the beginning of the 20th century and is grown there for wines and juices. In the US the berry is grown in the upper Midwest, with thousands of bushes planted there each year for cultivation.

The main push for the rising popularity of aronia came from the Pittz family. In 1997 Andrew Pittz’s parents were looking for a crop they could grow on the hilly and silt-heavy soil close to the Missouri River. They discovered aronia, and planted 200 bushes that year. It was a good choice because the bush grows easily in that area and has few pests. The bushes do not need to be planted anew each year.

Almost 20 years later Andrew, who is 28, sells his berries to about half of all the 237 Hy-Vee stores, and to every Whole Foods market in their Midwest region of the US.  Not only have the Pittz family been successfully growing and selling aronia, but they have been spreading the gospel to just about anyone who will listen.

His farm sponsors a yearly field day in September that attracts thousands of participants. Last year Andrew planted aronia bushes in all of Iowa’s 99 counties. Iowa State is also helping to promote the berry. It offers grants to help people begin to grow aronia, and promotes the berry as a value-added crop and a great way to diversify farm income.

“We want the aronia berry to be to Iowa’s Heartland what the peach is to Georgia.” Pittz said.