The piquant tang of blackcurrants

Summer desserts are enhanced by the piquant taste of blackcurrants adding ripples of rich, dark colour

Small and Glossy, the midnight purple beads of the blackcurrant fruit are bursting with sharply-sweet flavour tinged by a slight earthiness. Their tartness means they are best enjoyed in cooked dishes rather than eaten raw. Due to their high pectin and acid content, blackcurrants are perfect in jams, jellies and syrups, and their deep crimson juices make for popular cordials. Cooked with sugar, the fruit produces a puree for drizzling over desserts such as ice cream, and its strong flavour can also be moderated by combining it with other summer fruits. Used whole in bakes, such as cakes, bread and buns, the berries add intense hits of deep fruity tang. Blackcurrants can also enhance savoury dishes with an astringency that brings flavour to many sauces, and they are equally suited as an accompaniment to meat, particularly game. Both fruit and foliage also have uses in traditional medicine and the preparation of dyes.

Health benefits

The blackcurrant plant, Ribes nigrum is a medium-sized shrub growing to approximately 5ft (1.5m) high, and all parts are strongly aromatic. In the summer, bunches of fruit develop along its stems. Home-grown and full of benefits, blackcurrants are high in vitamin C and anthocyanins, which have been shown to help maintain cardiovascular and brain health, and support healthy vision. During World War II, most fruits rich in vitamin C, such as oranges, became difficult to obtain in Britain. As a result, the government encouraged the cultivation of blackcurrants, being well suited to the UK’s climate. A blackcurrant cordial was distributed to children to supplement their vitamin levels, and from 1942 onwards, blackcurrant syrup was available free of charge to children under the age of two. This move may have given rise to the lasting popularity of the fruit as a flavouring. Mixed with cider, blackcurrant cordial makes a drink known as cider and black, and a black ’n’ black can be made by adding a small amount of blackcurrant juice to a pint of stout. If the shot of juice is placed in the glass first, the head of the beer will be purple. Often overlooked in favour of sweeter, red summer berries, the blackcurrant proves itself to be just as versatile, colourful and flavoursome and makes a welcome addition to a variety of desserts.

“Currants on a bush, And figs upon a stem, And cherries on a bending bough, And Ned to gather them”