The redcurrants are a popular garden plant, whose fruits are nibbled directly from the shrub. Outside of gardens, they are rarely found. However, I was once lucky enough to discover a stream lined by redcurrants in a thickly overgrown alder forest. But the fruits shown here come from a garden, since the wild or feral shrubs can no longer be reached.

This soft fruit is often processed to jam and jelly. A costly speciality is the Bar-le-duc or Lorraine jelly from Bar-le-duc (France): for this currant jam, all seeds are carefully removed from the fruit with a quill without causing great damage to the fruit. Then the deseeded berries are given in boiling syrup.

The famous Linzer torte is also traditionally filled with “ribisel” jelly or “ribisel” jam. Furthermore, redcurrants are processed to red fruit soups and summer pudding, juice and ice cream.

Currants owe their name to St. John’s Day (June 24), around which the fruits of many species are ripening.

• Edible Fruits
• Type of Fruit Berry
• Culinary Group Soft fruits
• Taste sweet
• Trivial Names Rote Johannisbeere, Garten-Johannisbeere, Rote Ribisel, Redcurrant, Red currant, Groseillier à grappes
• Size 7 cm
• Taxonomy Grossulariaceae Ribes rubrum, Syn. Ribes sylvestre
• Origin Europe (northern Central Europe) (Map)
• Locality Hausgarten Nordrhein-Westfalen 2016