Real Food Encyclopedia | Currants
These lip-puckering, tart little fruits are native to temperate regions across the globe, including North America, Asia and Europe. In North America, several Indigenous groups traditionally ate the over 75 different currants native to the continent. Some groups mixed the fruit with meat and fish to make cakes. Other groups made pemmican and soups with currants, and used them to season stews. Many Native American groups also used the berries and leaves as for medicinal purposes.
As “The Oxford Companion to Food” explains, cultivated types of the fruit are primarily derived from European and Asian varieties. The redcurrant (Ribes rubrum) was domesticated in the Netherlands and Denmark in the 16th century, and the blackcurrant (R. nigrum) almost a century later. During World War II, Great Britain’s supplies of oranges and other citrus fruits were cut off, so Churchill encouraged British growers to cultivate blackcurrants, which are high in Vitamin C, to stave off scurvy. Blackcurrant drinks, like Ribina, are still quite popular in Britain today.
Fun facts about currants:
- Dried black currants — the kind you see in scones and sweet buns — are not actually currants at all, but a type of seedless grape.
- Currants bear fruit on a long, flexible stalk-like growth called a “strig.”
- Currants are pollinated by honeybees and hoverflies, nectar- and pollen-eating insects that look a lot like wasps.
What to look for when buying currants
There are a number of different types of the fruit, including black, red, white and pink varieties. Red, white and pink types are translucent, while blackcurrants are a deep, shiny, purple-black. Red, white and pink currants can be eaten out of hand (white currants tend to be the mildest in flavor and least acidic) but are commonly turned into jams, jellies and desserts. Most blackcurrants are grown for their acidic juice, but are also made into delicious preserves and desserts. They, too, can be eaten out of hand — but be ready to pucker up. All currants are tart and acidic, with a hint of delicious berry sweetness.
Currants are a specialty fruit that can be hard to find in conventional grocery stores. They’re difficult to harvest, don’t travel well and are highly perishable. Your best bet is to look for them at farmers’ markets (in states where growing them is legal!) or at specialty stores. Choose currants still attached to their string. They should be shiny and plump with no signs of mold or shriveling.
Sustainability of currants
Currants are not grown on a large-enough scale to have a major environmental impact.
Although they are susceptible to a number of insect pests, the U.K.’s Blackcurrant Foundation notes that most growers are increasingly committed to utilizing integrated pest management (IPM) practices, like deploying predatory insects instead of insecticides to kill aphids, and using row plantings such as clover to control weeds instead of herbicides.
Seasonality
A quintessential summer fruit, currants are available from early June through August or September in some areas.
Geography
Currants are shrubby plants in the genus Ribes, and count gooseberries as their closest relatives. They grow in temperate areas and are fairly cold hardy.
According to Cornell University, currants were banned from cultivation in the U.S. in the early 1900s to stop the spread of a tree disease called white pine blister rust, a fungal disease that attacks both currants and white pine trees. The federal ban was lifted in 1966, but there are still statewide bans on currant growing in Maine, Massachusetts and several other U.S. states.
Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Austria and France are the top global producers of the fruit.
Eating currants
Storing
Currants are highly perishable. Keep them in the refrigerator in a shallow, ventilated container loosely covered with a paper towel or plastic wrap for no longer than two to three days. Like other berries, avoid washing them before you stick them in the fridge — moisture hastens mold and decay.
Cooking
Some currants can be eaten out of hand (especially if you are down with tart fruit), but they are most commonly turned into sauces, jams, jellies and desserts. They pair beautifully with other summer fruits (think blackberries, raspberries, blueberries and peaches), mint, hard cheeses (like cheddar) and meat, especially pork and game birds like duck.
Try topping fruit tarts with a mixture of currants and other berries, or substitute fresh currants for blueberries in muffins. Toss them into salads for a pleasantly tart pop of flavor. Turn currants into pies or sauces for ice cream or roasted meats.
Preserving
High in pectin and usually in need of a sweetener to make them more palatable, currants are perfect for jam and jelly making. Check out David Lebovitz’s redcurrant jam or this blackcurrant jelly recipe from 1962. Currants also make perfect chutneys — their sweet-tartness is the perfect foil for savory ingredients. Serve with a salty cheese and crusty bread. Or have a go at making your own pemmican with juniper and currants!
Booze is also the perfect way to preserve summer fruit, so make your next kitchen project creating homemade crème de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur), so you can treat you guests to fancy kir royale cocktails.
Nutrition
One cup of red or white currants gives you about 77 percent of your daily Vitamin C intake. The fruit is also loaded with fiber, Vitamin K and manganese, and also has a little bit of iron, potassium and even protein.
Blackcurrants are even higher in nutrients. One cup of the fruit gives you about 338 percent of your daily Vitamin C needs — in fact, they contain more Vitamin C than any other natural food source. Blackcurrants are also loaded with antioxidant anthocyanin, and blackcurrant seed oil is used in herbal medicine to treat premenstrual syndrome and menopause symptoms. The leaf and fruit are also used to treat coughs and colds.
Top photo by Anna/Adobe Stock.