Here's everything worth knowing about red currants and how to pick them, what they are, how to store them, and what to use instead, plus 10 recipes to cook tonight.

What are red currants?

Red currants are tiny, jewel-bright berries that grow in delicate hanging clusters, like miniature bunches of translucent grapes. Each berry is no bigger than a pea, with a glassy red skin and a bright, tart, lightly sweet flavor.

They are sharper than most berries, more sour than sweet, which is why you rarely see them eaten plain by the handful.

Look closely and you can see the tiny seeds suspended inside the see-through fruit.

Their season is short. Peaking in midsummer, they are more a farmers-market and home-garden berry than a year-round supermarket find.

How to Use Red Currants

Their tartness and high pectin make red currants a natural for preserves. They set jelly and jam beautifully with little or no added pectin, as in Red Currant Jelly, and the strained jelly earns a permanent spot in the fridge door.

That jelly does double duty in savory cooking. A spoonful melted into pan juices makes a quick sweet-tart sauce for game and red meat, the classic move behind Venison & Redcurrant Casserole and a glaze for Salmon Stuffed with Arugula.

In desserts they work raw and cooked alike. Scatter the fresh clusters over tarts and pavlovas as a tart counterpoint to sweet cream, the way Black Currant & Red Currant Tarts and Old-Fashioned Currant Tart do, or cook them into the Scandinavian fruit pudding rodgrod.

A whole cluster left on the stem also makes a striking garnish, the frosted strands draped over a cake or a cheese plate.

Pairing and Common Mistakes

Red currants love cream and vanilla and the other summer berries, and their sharpness is a gift alongside rich, fatty foods. That is why the jelly is a traditional partner for lamb, venison, and game birds.

The mistake to avoid is under-sweetening. These berries are genuinely tart, so a raw scattering needs sugar or a sweet cream to balance it, and a jelly made without enough sugar will taste harsh.

To strip the berries quickly, run a fork down each cluster so the currants pop off the stem. There is no need to remove the tiny seeds for jelly, since you strain them out, but they do stay in a jam unless you press it through a sieve.

Substitutes

No red currants? For a tart accent in a dessert, fresh cranberries or sour cherries echo the bright acidity, though both are larger and need a touch more sweetening. Slightly underripe raspberries also stand in for color and tartness.

For red currant jelly in a savory sauce, a tart cranberry sauce or a lingonberry preserve gives the same sweet-sour lift against meat. Pomegranate molasses, used sparingly, brings a similar fruity sharpness when you have no jelly at all.

Buying and Storing Red Currants

Look for plump, glossy berries still attached to their stems, with a deep, even red and no shriveled or leaking fruit. The stems should look fresh rather than dried and brown. Avoid baskets with juice pooling at the bottom, a sign the fruit is crushed.

Red currants are fragile and do not keep long. Store them unwashed in the refrigerator, loosely covered. Use them within three to four days. Wash them gently just before using, since wet berries spoil faster.

They freeze well, which is the best way to handle a glut. Freeze them on the stem in a single layer, then strip and bag them once solid, and they keep for several months for jelly and baking.

Quick facts

In Chinese

红醋栗

British (UK) term

Red currants

en français

groseilles rouges

en español

grosellas rojas

Recipes using red currants

There are 10 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 10 recipes