ripe Black Currant berries; photo by ALJ
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Black Currants
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| A friend and I both bought 6 pounds of black currants, and quarts of potato vodka. We each concocted liqueurs to imbibe after aging them 3 to 6 months. Black Currant (Ribes nigrum) berries possess a strong distinctive flavor, called cassis in France. It is well known and much loved in Europe but little known in the USA. One can buy jams, juice, candy, tea, lambic (fruit beer) flavored with black currants. As a health food, one can buy the frozen or dried berries, or even their powder. The berries are dark, and high in antioxidants --more than double compared to blueberries; four times as much Vitamin C as oranges; twice the potassium of bananas. But potent flavor is what I love. It is curious how I favor dark foods. Red wines, black beers (stouts), black mulberries, black currants, and even black liqueurs such as Romana Black. Sublime, beautiful flavors! |
Unfortunately, the Black Currant bush is not lovely as a garden ornamental. It is prone to mildew, rust, leaf spot and insect munching. The flowers are not showy. It hails from cool regions in north Europe and Russia. Most black currant bushes in cultivation or in the wild in North America are other species or hybrids, such as:
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| Ribes americanum --American Black Currant |
| Ribes bracteosum --Stinking Black Currant |
| Ribes hudsonianum --Northern Black Currant |
| Ribes laxiflorum --Trailing or Western Black Currant |
Ribes ussuriense --Korean Black Currant
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| Whitman Farms nursery of Salem, Oregon, sells 27 kinds of black currant bushes mail-order. If you have ideal conditions, prune them correctly, and control their pests, you can succeed. Most need coolness, ample moisture, and handle shade okay but will fry in a hot sunny site on sandy soil. |
In 2019, I made five black currant liqueur blend variations. In 2020, I expanded, and did the following eight mixes:
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| Black currants, star anise, xylitol, vodka |
| Black currants, black peppercorns, xylitol, vodka |
| Black currants, shitake mushrooms, xylitol, vodka |
| Black currants, Vietnamese cinnamon, Szechwan pepper, dill, xylitol, vodka |
| Black currants, herbes des Provence, coriander, dill, ginger, xylitol, vodka |
| Black currants, star anise, black peppercorns, shitake mushrooms, Vietnamese cinnamon, Szechwan pepper, herbes des Provence, coriander, dill, ginger, xylitol, vodka |
| Black currants, star anise, anise, fennel, orchid leaf, xylitol, vodka |
Stink Currant berries, stems and leaves, Redflower currant berries, Blue elderberries, star anise, xylitol, vodka
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Crandell Hybrid Black Currant berries ; photo by ALJ
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7 Black Currant liqueur mixes ready to age for months ; photo by ALJ
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If you are unacquainted with black currants, taste some. You may develop a fondness for them.
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(originally published in my September 2019 newsletter
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