Ingredient: Redcurrants and whitecurrants
Category: Fruit - Soft
Season: June to August
Redcurrant (Ribes rubrum) is a member of the genus Ribes, in the gooseberry family Grossulariaceae, native to parts of western Europe (France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, and northern Italy).
It is a deciduous shrub normally growing to 1-1.5 m tall, occasionally 2 m, with five-lobed leaves arranged spirally on the stems.
The flowers are inconspicuous yellow-green, in pendulous 4-8 cm racemes, maturing into bright red translucent edible berries about 8-12 mm diameter, with 3-10 berries on each raceme.
Redcurrant fruit is slightly more sour than its relative the blackcurrant, and is cultivated mainly for jams and cooked dishes, rather than for eating raw.
In Scandinavia it is often used in fruit soups and summer puddings.
In Germany it is also used in combination with custard or meringue as a filling for tarts.
Redcurrants have high levels of vitamin C.
Ribes includes the currants, including the edible currants: blackcurrant, redcurrant, whitecurrant and gooseberries,
The Ribes currant should not be confused with the Zante currant grape.
Whitecurrants behave exactly like redcurrants , delicious as a jelly with roast lamb or pork (or just by itself on a spoon!). |