Red Currant

What are Red Currants?

Red currants are a member of the genus Ribes, which belong to the family of Grossulariceae, and grows in the north temperate region. It is native to the region of Europe, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. It is a deciduous shrub which produces edible bright red berries.

Picture 1 – Red Currant Picture
Source – Blogspot.com

Red Currant Definition

Red Currants are bright, red berries that grows in bunches in the deciduous red currant shrub, and can be eaten raw as a fruit, or used to prepare sauces and jellies.

Flowering Red Currants

Ribes sanguineum is a flowering Currant, or the red flowering currant, as it is also called. It is a species that is found in the region native to the North America. It is also a deciduous shrub, a very well known and beloved species of the northwest region, which has a beautiful display of the caramine red flowers.

Red currant Plants

Red currant plants are relatively low maintaining plants. They can be used for ornamentation because they are beautiful to look at and enhance the beauty of the garden. These plants can grow well in well drained soil which has a pH of about 6 to 7, and can grow into beautiful red currant trees in this soil. The plant should be kept weed free. It takes quite some time before these plants actually grow up into red currant trees.

Red Currant fruit

Red currant fruits are of translucent red color berries that grows in bunches. The plant produces numerous pendulous chains of small bright red berries. These fruits can be eaten raw, and are very delicious to taste. They are very easy to pick, as these fruits have strigs which enable the picker to hold the fruits without any problem. These berries are 8-12 mm in diameter. Approximately 3-10 berries grow on each raceme. A normal sized red currant bush can produce 3 to 4 kilos of berries in the summer season.

Red Currant flowers

The red currant flowers appear at the time of early spring. These flowers are grown and spurs on the older stems. Each of the bud opens up into a number of flowers, and they are together joined together into a delicate and drooping inch stem, which is called a strig. The numbers of flowers may fall low due to the chillness of winter. One may not be able to see an individual flower so distinctly, but when it is combined with the other flowers, they provide a lacy texture to the plant.

Growing Red Currants

Red currants are deciduous shrubs. They grow fast and into a healthy plant under optimum conditions. The roots of this plant are superficial and are prone to damage if they are cultivated quite frequently. The plant requires well drained soil for growing. They require very little space to grow. The place where the shrub is planted should be chosen in such a way that it gets enough sunlight. Clayey soil is preferable for growth.

Red Currant harvest

The cultivars hold well on the plants. Red currant bushes can be harvested from early to mid summer. While harvesting, you should always look for the plump and the rich forms. These berries can be harvested by snapping them at the top of the spring. This is a better method of picking, rather than picking individual berries.

Red currant Cuttings

The process of taking a cutting from the red currant is same as that of black currant. It involves a small little process. Never cut anything off the top of the cutting, so that the buds are intact. The buds from the bottom should be removed while cutting.

Red Currant pruning

Regular and annual pruning of the crop maintains regular yield of the plant, and keeps it manageable too. Pruning is also required so that the fruits are grown on the spurs of older woods. Regular pruning red currant bushes also maintains a supply of wood. The stems required to be pruned regularly so that the stems do not grow very scraggly. But this pruning should not be done after commencement of spring.

Red Currant Recipe

Picture 2 – Red currant Image
Source – blogspot.com

Red currant can be used to prepare a number of recipes. These dishes are very delicious to taste. It is used to prepare those dishes that are sweet in taste, as red currants have a natural sweetness in them. It can be used for the preparation of jams and jellies, tarts and cakes, some of the basic red currant recipes are:

Red Currant sorbet – Since the red currants are intense, they are used for the preparation of syrups and sorbets. They are almost surreal. The fruit is juiced to prepare delicious red currant sorbets.
Red Currant tart recipe – Red Currant tarts are not only deliciously sweet to taste, but they are also very good to look at. It is a large and spectacular one. It is made up of red currants, sugar, rhubarb, flour and eggs.
Red Currant jam – Red Currant jams are very easy to prepare as they require comparatively less time to be made. This jam is very sweet and yummy, and is especially liked by the children.
Red Currant ice cream – Like other ice creams, the red currant ice cream is also almost irresistible.

Other items that are cooked with red currants are:

Red Currant wine recipe
Red Currant muffins
Red Currant cake
Red Currant pie
Red Currant sauce
Red Currant Juice Recipe

Red Currant Nutrients Facts

Red currant is a nutritionally rich fruit. It has all the nutrients in adequate proportions. Apart from being extremely delicious, people should also consume his fruit because of its benefits and the presence of a number of essential nutrients. The amount of nutrients that is provided by a 100 gm of this fruit is as follows:

Total fats – 0.2 gram

Saturated fat – 0 gram

Total carbohydrate – 7.9 gram

Sugar 7.9 gram

Dietary fibers -0 3.5 gram
Sodium – 1.4 mg
Energy – 191.8 kJ
Vitamin C – 21 mg
Iron – 1.2 mg
Proteins – 1.3 gram

Red Currant Benefits

Red currant provides numerous benefits to the people. These are high utility plants. Not only are they delicious to taste, but the amount of benefits they provide is truly impeccable. They are used for making jams and jellies as they are rich flavored and sweet in taste.

Red currants Health Benefits

Red currants are very healthy fruits. They offer a lot of health benefits to the people. They contain vitamin c, potassium and other minerals. Some of the health benefits that they provide are as follows:

They aid in developing resistance power in human beings.
They are very effective for minor burns as they possess antiseptic properties.
It maintains the electrolyte balance in the body.
It is a good antioxidant, and is effective as it can scavenge the free radicals in the body.
It is rich in anthocynins and proanthocyanin.
These fruits are beneficial fro diabetic and heart patients.
It is also beneficial for heart patients.
It is said to have provided help in controlling menstrual flow, sweats and is a good laxative.
It also possesses blood cleansing properties and digestive properties.

Picture 3 – Red Currant photo
Source – wordpress.com

Red currant Tea

Tea can be extracted from the leaves of red currant plant. It is a red currant extract. This tea is very nutritious, and it can ease the harmful effects of rheumatism and gout. It can be used for compressing the wounds that do not heal fast. It can also be used as a gargling solution. This tea is also used to combat the destructive free radicals that cause aging in the body. It controls healthy degeneration of the body. It is also rich in antitoxidants.

Red currants Tomato

The red color of red currants, its round shape and it structure make red currant eh tiniest tomato on earth. These fruits are very sweet and are tiny in size, and there is less than a few ounces. They have a sweet taste and a balance3d flavor of tomato in it. This is an indeterminate crop, which gives a relatively stable supply of red currant berries throughout the year.

Red Currant Varieties

There are certain varieties of the red currant berries. Some of its well known and famous varieties are:

Junifer
Red lake
Jonkheer van tests
Rovada
Stanza

Rovada Red Currant

This is the best variety of red currant that is available now. It is a kind of perfect redcurrant bush. It comes in perfect long strings that enable easy picking with enormous yields. Rovada needs approximately 140 cm spacing to grow.

Red currant Extracts

Some of the things that are extracted from Red Currant are:

Red Currant Jelly

Pure red currant jelly is dark transparent red in color. It is very sweet in taste. It can be used on a toasted baguette, or can also be brushed over fruit tarts to get a glossy and a sweet sheen. It enhances the look of the food with its attractive color, sweet and delicious taste and yummy flavor.

Votivo Red Currant Diffuser

Red currant diffusers have a very good aroma. This aroma ill spread in your entire house as if it is a huge bouquet. This diffuser contains red currant fragrance blended with finest fragrant oils and aromatic diffuser in the concentrated form.

Votivo Red Currant Candles

Votive candle red currants are one of the most famous kinds of candles that are available. It is very well known throughout the world. This kind of candle has a very good fragrance owing to the red currant berries. it is the original kind of candle, with practically no substitute available. Its wax is naturally soy, the seal is hand pressed and it is hand wrapped.

Red Currant Oil

The oil extracted from red currant seeds is used for making soap, and tarts. It is fragrance oil. This oil is good for skincare and for cooking purpose as well.

Wild Red Currant

The wild red currant is atasty kind of fruit that grows wildly. It can be used to prepre a whole lot of recipes. It can be used in place of any recipe that is good for the cultivated berries. You can prepare salads or puddings using the wild red currant berries.

Substitute for Red Currant

The most common kind of substitute available for red currants is gooseberries or raspberries. The substitute for red currant jelly is grape jelly, apple jelly and Cranberry sauce.

Red Currant Diseases

There are certain diseases may affect the growth of red currants or may even be transmitted to the people eating them are:

White Pine Blister Rust

It is caused due to the fungus Cronartium ribicola. It causes some damage to the plants, is more fatal to the taller plants.

Anthracnose

This disease is caused due to the fungus Drepanopeziza. It is a very serious disease. It infects the new leaves of the plant during the rainy months. It can cause the leaves of the plant to grow irregular manner with spots on leaves.

Red currant is a very sweet and nutritious fruit. It is used for preparing a lot of dishes. You should only be careful about selecting a good breed of this fruit so that it does not create any health problem. Taste this fruit if you still have not, and take advantage of its manifold benefits and yummy flavor!

References:

http://dictionary.reverso.net/english-definition/redcurrant

https://www.webster-dictionary.org/definition/red%20currant

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redcurrant

https://specialtyproduce.com/produce/Red_Currant_Berries_2007.php

http://organicgardening.about.com/od/heirlooms/ig/Ten-Tasty-Heirloom-Tomatoes/redcurrant.htm