Currants Becoming Current
By Shaylise Sylvester
Do you know what a currant is? Do you know what a currant tastes like?
If the answer is no, you're not alone. Most Americans don't know what a currant is, let alone what it tastes like. Currants disappeared from American plates after its cultivation was banned by the federal government in the early 1900s.
Currants are packed with nutrients, and the plants thrive in northern environments. In an attempt to bring awareness to the forgotten berry, the Georgeson Botanical Garden will host a festival this summer. The inaugural currant festival will be held at the Georgeson Botanical Garden on August 26, 2023.
Currants have a fascinating history in the United States. In the early 1900s, Currants were believed to be the cause of white pine blister rust, a type of fungus that kills whole trees. The white pine blister rust destroyed acres of trees valuable to an expanding logging industry. In response to the issue, the US federal government banned the cultivation of black and red currants. The ban shifted from the national to the state level in 1966, but growing currants remained illegal in most states.
A farmer named Greg Quinn took action nearly a century after the cultivation ban. Quinn purchased an upstate New York dairy farm intending to grow currants. In 2003, Quinn successfully overturned the ban on currants in New York. The victory resulted in the ability to grow currants on his farm, along with re-establishing knowledge of currants in the United States. However cultivating currants is still illegal in a handful of states and most people still need to learn what currants are.
Currants grow on a small perennial shrub (perennial plants live longer than one growing season and regrow every spring). This small shrub thrives in northern environments. The currant is common in most countries and is widely cultivated in most countries of Europe and New Zealand. Currants are used to make syrups, jams, liquors, and desserts. The berry is so prevalent in the UK that the purple skittle flavor isn't grape flavored, as we know it to be in the United States, but rather the purple skittle is blackcurrant flavored.
There are various currants: white, red, pink, and black. The black currant is known for its robust and unusual flavor. Some report that the taste resembles the wine cabernet sauvignon, and the white currant is generally less acidic and sweeter. You can compare currant’s flavor profiles to either low-bush or high-bush cranberries.
Currants are exceptionally nutritious. The small berry contains vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Black currants have about 56% of the daily recommended value of vitamin C in a quarter-cup serving. The berry also contains:
Fiber
Iron
Calcium
Phosphorus
Magnesium
Vitamin B1, B2, B5 and B6 and Vitamin A
The Georgeson Botanical Garden's inaugural currant festival hopes to bring awareness of currants to the community, share their history, and promote growing currants. Currants thrive in northern climates, and Fairbanks is an especially great place to farm currants or grow them in your home garden!
There are local spots where currant plants are for sale. If you want to add these mysterious berries to your garden. Currants are available in some Fairbanks nurseries and the Fairbanks Soil and Water Conservation District spring sale will have limited currant plants available. The sale will be held May 26th and 27th.
Sale info: https://www.fswcdtrees.com/
The idea that a ban nearly 100 years ago has had such a massive impact on agriculture today and has erased knowledge of currants to most Americans is difficult to swallow. Currants have a wide range of health benefits, and it is a shame that they are not prevalent in the United States.
Remember: Mark your calendars for the UAF Georgeson Botanical Garden's inaugural currant festival on August 26, 2023, to try a currant berry for the first time and learn more about its cultivation.
For more information about the upcoming event and the UAF Georgeson Botanical Garden, check out the links below:
Website: https://georgesonbotanicalgarden.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GBG.UAF
Instagram: @gbg.uaf