Black currants, a much-loved berry in Europe, are not that well known in North America. When we planted our first bushes at the farm, we found out why: in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the North American seaboard, and particularly Quebec and the New England states, were huge exporters of wood. The black currant bush was found to be a vector of white pine rust; as a result, commercial production of black currants was banned in Quebec, all the New England states and most of the rest of North America until very recently. While commercial production has grown in the past decade in New York, Connecticut, Oregon and Vermont, you still cannot grow black currants commercially in many states in the USA. Indeed, 99% of the world’s production of black currants comes from Europe.
Fresh black currants can be a great addition to your favourite granola. Try sprinkling a few into your bowl in the morning. See below for some other black currant recipe ideas.
Black currant jam from Foxmoor Farm – 15/07/2020
At the farm, we make black currant jam using a very simple recipe from Foxmoor Farm, a small black currant farm on the shores of Lake Erie in Norfolk County, Ontario. It is the only recipe they have on their website, and it is amazingly good. While their recipe calls for 5 cups of black currants, it can be adapted to any amount of black currants you have on hand. Cook it less, and you’ll have succulent coulis, cook it more and it makes an outstanding jam.
Top 10 black currant recipes from the BBC – 15/07/2020
Black currants are a UK favourite, so it is only to be expected that the BBC’s goodfood website would have a Black Currant Top 10. Enjoy!