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What are currants?
In the United States, the United Kingdom and Ireland, ‘currants’ often refer to Zante currants, which are indeed not currants, but grape raisins of the small, sweet, seedless grape cultivar Black Corinth. These are not to be confused with the black, red or white currants, which are grape-like berries that grow on bushes and are not usually eaten dried.
Real currants – the tiny berries our article investigates – grow in clusters on stems in northern climates and belong to the Ribes family. They have been cultivated in Europe for centuries. They're common in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and North America.
What do they taste like?
Currants are sweet and sour, with a berry flavour. Their sweetness is balanced by bright acidity, with a trace of tannins that can make your mouth pucker. The taste is similar to raisins but more intense.
Black currants have a distinctively spicy and musky scent. Dried black currants look like Zantes and have a tart and bold flavour.
Red and white currants are tart, but their flavour is more straightforward than black currants. While these currants are essentially sour, at peak ripeness they have a subtle sweetness that balances their acidity and can be eaten raw.
What do they look like?
Currants range from a deep dark purple (black currants), to brilliant ruby red, to a translucent white. Most currants ripen into black or red berries. Red and white currants are smaller than black currants and resemble tiny bunches of shiny grapes – when ripe, their skins are filled with a jelly-like clear pulp.
Nutrition
Currants may be small, but they pack a powerful nutritional punch. They are excellent sources of fibre, vitamin C, iron, potassium, and antioxidants. While they've long been used in traditional medicine, researchers are now proving currants' anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial powers.
One cup of raw black currants (112g) provides 71 calories, 1.6g of protein, 17g of carbohydrates, and 0.5g of fat.
Dried black currants are a powerhouse of nutrients, rich in vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre.
Currants vs. raisins
As we have seen, in the United States, the United Kingdom and Ireland, currants can refer to tiny dried, seedless grapes that are similar to raisins. Producers make Zante currants by drying the small Black Corinth grape, and the product is often labelled as ‘currant’. However, the small dried Zante currants are not true currants. Red currants, black currants, and white currants are the real currants – berries grown on shrubs, similar to gooseberries, and are not grapes.
Raisins and Zantes are sweet dried fruits that stem from different varieties of vine-grown white grapes, while currants are fresh bush-grown berries that are more tart than sweet.
The US (mainly California), Turkey, Australia and Greece produce raisins. The grapes naturally darken in colour as they dry in the sun.
What to do with currants
Fresh currants can be used like blueberries, blackberries, or raspberries, in scones, tarts, pies, sorbets, puddings, custards, fruit salads, holiday stuffings, baked goods, or to garnish desserts with their pretty colour.
They are wonderful in jams and jellies. Currants are naturally full of pectin and acidity, so there's no need to add pectin when making jams and preserves.
Currants are also excellent in sauces recipes, paired with rich meats like pork, lamb, or game. Since they have the acidity of fresh fruits, they complement strong-flavoured meats that benefit from a bit of sweetness.
They pair well with nuts. They're superb in vinaigrettes, over ice cream or yoghurt, or stirred into oatmeal. They're also fantastic in all kinds of drinks – with or without alcohol. You can just snack on them, as you would raisins.
Dried black currants are often used as a substitute for raisins, dates or prunes in baked goods. Simply put, anything you can do with raisins, you can do with currants.
White and pink currants are sweeter, more delicate, and usually used fresh.
As Zante currants and currant berries are sometimes confused, it may be challenging to determine which to use in a recipe. Whenever a recipe mentions red or white currants, it refers to the berry. When the ingredients are fresh or frozen fruits, not dried, true currants are used. In the same way, consider where the dish comes from – if it's a Danish, Dutch, or French recipe, use currant berries. On the other hand, if a recipe calls for a raisin substitute, it probably means dried Zante currants, but dried black currants can make an excellent substitute.
Varieties
There are many varieties of currants. The colour of the berries typically classifies them, and each colour has a variety of cultivars.
There are red, white and black specimens. The different coloured currants have different tastes due to their composition.
Red currants have the highest content of fruit acids compared to white and black currants. They are eaten fresh or as juice and are the most common for jams and sauces.
White currants are sweeter and milder than red currants. They are lower in acidity and often enjoyed fresh.
Black currants are less commonly eaten fresh. They contain five times as much vitamin C as white or red currants. They are often made into jelly, juices or dessert wines because of their tart flavour.
Pink currants are the rarest and, both in colour and taste, fall between the red and white varieties.
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