How to cook currants

Family – Saxifragaceae
Scientific name – Ribes rubrum, Ribes vulgare, Ribes petraeum, Ribes sativum, Ribes nigrum, Ribes ussuriense

Common name – currant (red, pink, white, black, and Asian)

Currants are small, spherical berries with thin, translucent skin that can be red, pink, white, or black. They have a soft, juicy pulp that contains several edible seeds. The flavor of currants varies from slightly to exceedingly tart. True currants are not to be confused with the zante currant, a variety of small, dried grape (raisin).

Currants are categorized by their color. Common red currants include the Red Lake, a mild-flavored, bright-red berry, and the Perfection, a medium to large, flavorful variety. The White Imperial, a small, round, white berry that grows on a spreading bush, has the lowest acid content of any currant. The most common pink currant is the Gloire des Sablons, an ancient French variety with pink flesh and colorless skin. The Boskoop is a well-flavored black currant, produced on a vigorous, upright bush. The Willoughby is a mild, black Canadian currant that is hardy to cold and sun and resists mildew.

Currants appear to have originated in northern Europe, northern Africa, Siberia, and in the Western Hemisphere, where they were eaten by American Indians well before their first contact with Europeans. American Indians historically have used currants for both food and medicinal purposes. The Coast Salish Indians of Vancouver Island boiled the fruit and dried it into rectangular cakes for use as a winter food. The Woodlands Cree Indians used currant jam as a condiment for fish, meat, and bread. Before 1550, the English called this fruit ribes, a name of ancient Indo-European origin. Subsequently, the berries came to be called currants, a word derived from the berry’s resemblance to the dried Greek raisins that are made from small seedless grapes. English and European colonists in the Americas found currants growing wild in woods and fields and quickly developed a taste for them. Today, currants are commonly cultivated in Europe, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States. Europeans and Canadians seem to prefer black currants, and the less tart red and white varieties are more popular among Americans.

Currant plants are fast-growing, deciduous, perennial shrubs that can reach 5 feet in height and width. Their leaves resemble those of the maple tree in shape, but they are pale green on black currant bushes and dark blue-green on red currant plants. Some varieties are upright, and others spread. The self-fertilizing flowers that give rise to red currants are green, and those that produce black currants are pink. Plants are generally pollinated by insects. The berries, averaging about a fourth of an inch in diameter, hang in clusters from delicate, drooping stems called strigs. Currants prefer cold climates, heavy, moist, enriched soil, and full sun or light shade. Although they can be propagated by seed in the spring or by cuttings in the early fall, bushes grown from seed produce no fruit for 2 to 3 years. Pruning to remove wood that is more than 3 years old encourages the growth of new shoots.

Black currants are harvested selectively as they ripen and before they shrivel and fall from the bush. Red and white currants are pulled by the cluster to avoid damaging the delicate fruit. If the berries are going to be used for jams or jellies, they must be picked before they ripen fully because that is when the fruit pectin levels are highest. Berries grown for eating are allowed to ripen on the bush for several weeks after achieving full color. A mature currant bush can produce up to 4 quarts of fruit each year.

How to cook currants

Because of their tartness, currants, particularly black currants, are rarely eaten as fresh fruit. Instead, they are made into jams and jellies or used in pies and sauces. Black currants are sometimes soaked in brandy or made into wine, sometimes mixed with honey and spirits. Black currants are the basis for the French liqueur crème de cassis. An infusion of the young leaves of the black currant shrub makes a drink similar to green tea.

Currants are high in vitamin C. Black currants are a good source of potassium.