Red currant: traditional uses, kitchen ideas and cautions

Partager

0

Red currant is the small, tart, translucent berry that hangs in bunches on a shrub barely taller than a garden gate. This page covers what the fruit and its leaves actually contain, what herbalism and country tradition have long made of them, and how to turn a punnet into juice, an infusion, a jelly or a face mask tonight — plus who should go carefully.

Where it comes from

• Currants reached Western Europe in the Middle Ages, with wild relatives spread across Asia, Europe and North America.
• Commercial growing today is concentrated in Denmark, Poland and France.
• Garden varieties come in three colours: red (‘Jonkheer van Tets’), white (‘White Versailles’) and black (‘Black Giant’).
• Gooseberry types were long cooked into sauces for roast goose in England — which is where the name stuck.

What it is credited with

• Sluggish digestion — the fruit has a gentle laxative reputation in country herbalism, where it was taken to encourage easier intestinal transit.
• Feeling run down — naturopathy values the fruit’s iron and vitamin C content and traditionally suggests it to people describing themselves as tired or depleted.
• Winter sniffles — the juice has a long-standing reputation as a fortifying drink through the cold months, and older domestic remedies used it in feverish states.
• Water retention — herbalists have classed currant juice among the diuretic fruits, used to flush the urinary tract.
• Stiff, aching joints — in traditional European herbalism, infusions of currant leaves were drunk to ease joint stiffness and general aches.
• Poor appetite — the sharpness of the juice earned it a place as an aperitif-style tonic to wake up the appetite before a meal.
• Coughs — folk practice used currant syrup as a soothing, pleasant-tasting remedy for a tickly throat.
• Spring cleansing — naturopathy includes the fruit in seasonal detox routines, with a reputation for supporting the liver.
• Skin — cosmetic tradition credits the pulp with cleansing, nourishing and hydrating the skin, and with helping it look fresher.

How to use it

Fresh, by the handful

• Rinse the bunches, strip the berries with a fork, eat as they are or scattered over yoghurt.
• A small bowl — roughly 3.5 oz (100 g) — is the everyday serving.
• Pair with strawberries and raspberries to soften the tartness without adding sugar.

The digestive juice

• Blend a generous handful of gooseberry-type currants together with a few of their washed leaves.
• Strain through a fine sieve or muslin, pressing the pulp.
• Drink a small glass, traditionally taken in the morning, for a few days at a time rather than continuously.

Leaf infusion

• Use a small handful of fresh leaves, or a heaped teaspoon dried, per mug.
• Pour on water just off the boil, cover, and leave to steep 8 to 10 minutes.
• Tradition has it drunk as two or three cups spread through the day, for a week or so, then a break.
• Taste is green and mild; a slice of lemon or a little honey lifts it.

Syrup and coulis

• Simmer the berries briefly with a little water, press through a sieve, sweeten to taste.
• A spoonful of syrup in hot water makes the classic cold-weather drink.
• Coulis goes over cottage cheese, ice cream or a plain sponge.

In the kitchen

• Sweet: jam, seedless jelly, pies, clafoutis, muffins, crumbles, ice cream, fruit salads.
• Savoury: warmed in a pan with duck breast, poultry, roasts or foie gras; whisked into a salad dressing; a few berries on melted cheese toasts.
• Jelly is the traditional partner to roast game and strong cheese.

Skin masks

• Nourishing mask — blend 3.5 oz (100 g) currants with a little olive oil and powdered oats. Spread on clean, unbroken skin, leave 15 to 20 minutes, rinse with clear water.
• Hydrating mask — blend currants with cottage cheese, apply, rinse after 20 minutes.
• Patch-test on the inner forearm first; fruit acids can sting sensitive skin.

Frequently Asked Questions

The one thing to remember: eat the berries freely as food, and treat the juice and leaf infusion as short herbal routines — a few days or a week, then a break.

Which part of the red currant do I actually use?

The ripe berries are the everyday part, eaten raw or cooked. The juice, pressed from blended fruit, is the form country herbalism used as a digestive and diuretic drink. The leaves, picked late spring to midsummer, are the part infused for the old remedy against joint stiffness.

When should I pick them?

Berries ripen from midsummer to late summer, and are at their best when fully coloured and glossy. Cut whole bunches with scissors instead of tugging at individual fruits. Leaves for infusion are gathered earlier, late spring to midsummer, while they are still tender and unblemished.

How much leaf infusion is usual?

Tradition uses a small handful of fresh leaves, or a heaped teaspoon dried, per mug, steeped 8 to 10 minutes under a lid. Two or three cups across the day is the classic pattern, for a week or so at a time. Take a break afterwards rather than drinking it indefinitely.

Can I drink currant juice every day?

As part of a meal, a small glass is simply fruit juice. As a remedy-style routine it is better kept short, because the fruit has a genuine laxative and diuretic reputation. Anyone pregnant, breastfeeding, on medication or living with kidney trouble should check first.

Does the fruit stain?

Badly, and fast. Soak the affected laundry in milk for a couple of hours before washing normally. Wear an apron when you are sieving pulp for jelly or coulis.

• Read also: how to grow red currant bushes
• Read also: everything about currant

This information is provided for general interest and reflects the traditional use of plants. It is not a substitute for medical advice. If you are on medication, pregnant, or in any doubt, ask a healthcare professional.