Ribes nigrum, or
Blackcurrant is a species of
Ribes berry native to central and northern
Europe and northern
Asia and is a
perennial.
It is a small shrub growing to 1–2 m tall. The leaves are alternate, simple, 3–5 cm long and broad, and palmately lobed with five lobes, with a serrated margin. The flowers are 4–6 mm diameter, with five reddish-green to brownish petals; they are produced in racemes 5–10 cm long.
When not in fruit, the plant looks similar to the redcurrant shrub, distinguished by a strong fragrance from leaves and stems. The fruit is an edible berry 1 cm diameter, very dark purple in colour, almost black, with a glossy skin and a persistent calyx at the apex, and containing several seeds dense in nutrients. An established bush can produce up to 5 kilograms of berries during summer.
Plants from Asia are sometimes distinguished as a separate variety, Ribes nigrum var. sibiricum, or even as a distinct species Ribes cyathiforme.
Cultivars
There are many cultivars of blackcurrant, including: Amos Black, Ben Alder, Ben Avon, Ben Connan, Ben Dorain, Ben Gairn, Ben Hope, Ben Lomond, Ben Loyal, Ben More, Ben Sarek, Ben Tirran, Big Ben, Ben Vane, Ben Klibreck, Boskoop Giant, Cotswold Cross, Wellington XXX and Willoughby.
New varieties are being developed continually to improve frost tolerance, disease resistance, machine harvesting, fruit quality, nutritional content and fruit flavour.
Varieties producing green fruit, less strongly flavoured and sweeter than typical blackcurrants, are cultivated in Finland, where they are called "greencurrants" (viherherukka).
History
output in 2005]]
United Kingdom
During
World War II, most fruits rich in vitamin C, such as
oranges, became almost impossible to obtain in the United Kingdom. Since blackcurrant berries are a rich source of
vitamin C and blackcurrant plants are suitable for growing in the UK climate, blackcurrant cultivation was encouraged by the British government. Soon, the yield of the nation's crop increased significantly. From 1942 on, almost the entire British blackcurrant crop was made into blackcurrant syrup (or cordial) and distributed to the nation's children free, giving rise to the lasting popularity of blackcurrant flavourings in Britain.
United States
Blackcurrants were once popular in the
United States as well, but became rare in the 20th century after currant farming was banned in the early 1900s, when blackcurrants, as a
vector of
white pine blister rust, were considered a threat to the U.S.
logging industry.
The federal ban on growing currants was shifted to jurisdiction of individual states in 1966, and was lifted in New York State in 2003 through the efforts of horticulturist
Greg Quinn. As a result, currant growing is making a comeback in
New York,
Vermont,
Connecticut and
Oregon. However, several statewide bans still exist including
Maine and
New Hampshire.
Since the American federal ban ceased currant production nationally for nearly a century, the fruit remains largely unknown in the United States, and has yet to regain its previous popularity to levels enjoyed in Europe or New Zealand. Owing to its unique flavour and richness in polyphenols, dietary fibre and essential nutrients, awareness and popularity of blackcurrant is once again growing, with a number of consumer products entering the market.
Nutrients and phytochemicals
The fruit has extraordinarily high
vitamin C content (302% of the
Daily Value per 100 g, table), good levels of
potassium,
phosphorus,
iron and
vitamin B5, and a broad range of other
essential nutrients (nutrient table, right).
Other phytochemicals in the fruit (polyphenols/anthocyanins) have been demonstrated in laboratory experiments with potential to inhibit inflammation mechanisms suspected to be at the origin of heart disease, cancer, microbial infections or neurological disorders like Alzheimer's disease. Major anthocyanins in blackcurrant pomace are delphinidin-3-O-glucoside, delphinidin-3-O-rutinoside, cyanidin-3-O-glucoside, and cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside which are retained in the juice concentrate among other yet unidentified polyphenols.
Blackcurrant seed oil is also rich in many nutrients, especially vitamin E and several unsaturated fatty acids including alpha-linolenic acid and gamma-linolenic acid.
In a human pilot study, ingestion of blackcurrant seed oil by mothers reduced atopic dermatitis in their breast-fed newborns who were supplemented with the oil over two years.
Culinary uses
In the UK, blackcurrant
cordial is often mixed with
cider to make a drink called "Cider and Black" or "Snakebite" available at
pubs. Adding a small amount of blackcurrant juice to
Guinness is preferred by some to heighten the taste of the popular stout. Macerated blackcurrants are also the primary ingredient in the
apéritif crème de cassis.
Japan imports $3.6 million in
New Zealand blackcurrants for uses as
dietary supplements, snacks,
functional food products and as quick-frozen (IQF)
produce for culinary production as
jams,
jellies or
preserves. In
Russia, blackcurrant leaves may be used for flavouring tea or preserves. Sweetened
vodka may also be infused with blackcurrant leaves or berries, making a deep yellowish-green beverage with a sharp flavour and astringent taste. A universally sold drink,
Ribena, is a
juice drink made from blackcurrants which takes its name from
Ribes.
Confectionery
Blackcurrant berries have a distinctive sweet and sharp
taste popular in
jam,
juice,
ice cream, and
liqueur (see
Ribena). They are a common ingredient of
Rødgrød, a popular
kissel-like
dessert in North
German and
Danish cuisines. In the
UK, Europe and Commonwealth countries, some types of
confectionery include a blackcurrant flavour, and in Belgium and the Netherlands,
cassis is a flavoured currant soft drink. In the United States, blackcurrant flavour is rather rare in candies and jellies compared to UK sweets. In the United States,
grape flavour is often used in brands of candy where blackcurrant would appear in Europe. Blackcurrant syrup mixed with white wine is called
Kir or Kir Royale when mixed with
Champagne.
In cuisine
Other than being juiced and used in jellies, syrups, and cordials, blackcurrants are used in cooking because their astringency creates flavour in many sauces, meat dishes and desserts. It was once thought currants needed to be "topped and tailed" (the stalk and flower-remnants removed) before cooking.
This is not the case, though, as these parts are easily assimilated during the cooking process. If one prefers, the whole blackcurrant stem with fruit can be frozen, then shaken vigorously. The tops and tails are broken off and fruit can be separated easily.
See also
Cecidophyopsis ribis – the blackcurrant gall mite
Crème de cassis
References
External links
The Blackcurrant Foundation
Blackcurrant recipes
Are They Currants or Raisins? An essay making a case that blackcurrants are real currants while "Zante currants" - which are known simply as "currants" in the U.S. and some other parts of the world - are not. The author does not appear to know about the theory that blackcurrants and redcurrants took their English name from Zante currants, which seem be the same fruits that were called "raysons of coraunce" (with various spellings) in Middle English, from Old French "raisins de Corauntz". It gives the confusion a recent date.
Category:Berries
Category:Ribes
