I recently met a customer at the nursery and he had purchased a farm with three acres of black currants on it. When it came time to harvest the currants in their first year he looked about for processors who would be interested in purchasing the currents. They made countless phone calls and tried every avenue without success. No one in BC or even in Canada was interested in processing currents; they were told to ship their product overseas to England where it was very popular. I was surprised, but not really…
I've been growing currents for the last 5 years and they are so easy to grow. My plants are healthy, they loved our clay soil and were even tolerant of shade and they produced abundantly. The fruit is beautiful too, hanging in shiny black clusters all through the plants in early July. And to top it all off they are rich in antioxidants and vitamins. So why are they such a hard to sell in a North American market?
The problem with currants is the flavour. When we bite into a berry we want to be met with sweet, juicy and mellow flavours and black currants just don’t provide that. When you bite into a currant you get rich tannins, and a musky background flavour with less sweetness than blueberries and raspberries. The untrained palette will discard them at once…in fact my customer with the three acres of black currants said that his daughter ate one berry and has since refused to ever try another. And yet for all this I highly recommend black currants to everyone!
The secret to black currants and unlocking their potential is in the kitchen! When cooked, into a sauce the black currant takes on a whole new personality! The tannins and musky flavour of the berries contribute to a rich and velvety sauce that is unsurpassed for flavour and when combined with other berries, they add rich depth to the resulting sauces. Juice made from black currants is delicious and rich in antioxidants and flavinoids and can be used to lower blood pressure and work as an immune booster. And for the connoisseur of liquors, the berries can also be used to create tasty Creme de Cassis.
So, while black currants may never be the star of the snack bowl, they absolutely deserve a place in the garden—and in the pantry. Their resilience, productivity, and incredible culinary potential make them a gem for gardeners and food lovers alike. With a little imagination and a willingness to explore new flavors, black currants can rise from an overlooked oddity to treasured staple. Don’t be afraid to plant a few—you might just find they grow on you!
