Black currants are very tart and quite pungent, which is valued greatly in Europe and detested here in the US. Boiling helps with the pungency, so making preserves is the usual way to go with them around here. Where I come from people grind up black currant berries with sugar in a blender or food processor. You keep the mix in the fridge or freezer and use it as jam with your tea or for cooking (meatballs are really good with it). You can search the fruit forum, there were a few threads there about black currants. Good luck!
Grow

I use currants in my Christmas pudding and some baked goods, and the last poster is right... most American people don't care for them because actually they are a little gritty.

I make jam with my black currants -- straight and a raspberry/currant mix. Red currants are better in the blend -- a little sharper.

Re: "Black currants are very tart and quite pungent"

Not true. Black currants are supposed to be sweet and delicious.

Red currants are tart, but black currants are sweet.

I think we can let this thread die of natural causes.

I disagree that these Black Currants are detested in the U.S. I would say that most Americans know little about them or their healthy qualities -- and most Europeans do. There's good reason, though, because the Black Currant bush/tree was forbidden to be planted in the U.S. for quite awhile because of a problem with our Pine trees. However, the plants that are available now do not cause diseases to our trees.

The Black Currant was used in European countries -- Scandinavia and Britain especially -- for generations because it provides very high Vitamin C for countries that cannot grow citrus fruit. So the fruit was used to make syrups and beverages there. The flavor of Black Currants is not so common in the U.S.

Obviously, no one really has any new recipes -- so I'll continue to do what I've done before.

Thanks everyone.

Kathy in Washington

I don't know what black currants are "supposed to be" like, I just know that out of the 8 varieties I grow now (and others that I have been growing for about 20 years) none is what one would call "sweet". They are very high in vitamin C aka ascorbic acid, and to make edible preserves you need about 1:1 ratio of berries and sugar. They are delicious, IMO but try offering them to any of your American friends and see if they ask for seconds. Here's a link to a discussion on Fruit and Berries forum.

Here is a link that might be useful: black currant discussion

I purposefully bought black currant jam when we were vacationing in the UK a few years ago. I liked it.

I have used black currants since I began cooking, because it's an ingredient in our family's traditional desserts. I grew up eating them. I sometimes have a hard time finding them in local stores and I can't speak to American's 'detesting them' but I have had people pick them out of the puddings. Also had other people ask if I could please substitute raisins. Mostly because they do not like the grittiness of the seeds. Yes the reason they are not mainstream is because of they vector white pine blister beetles.

Actually I am a nurseryman, and the following states still have quarantine restrictions on European Black Current. Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Rhode Island, and West Virginia. The federal ban has been lifted.

Well, this thread is starting to take on some action ... finally.

If anyone (no one?) is interested in learning more about these curious fruits, you can check below.

Thanks for fellow forum members for your comments.

Kathy in Washington

Here is a link that might be useful: Black Currant (dot com)

Kathy, I can't give you any ideas on how to use them, but we sure do like black currant jam or preserves.

This year I planted a jostaberry bush and am eager to see how it produces next year. It's a cross between a gooseberry and a black currant. Have you tried them?

The nursery guy from whom I bought the bush says they're very prolific and tasty. My dh wants to start making wine so that's where some of these will get used.

Judi