Old-Fashioned Jams, Jellies, and Sweet Preserves by Jo Ann Gardner

Author:Jo Ann Gardner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Skyhorse
Published: 2014-12-08T16:00:00+00:00

Black Currants

I may as well tell you straight away that I am a black-currant fancier, one of a small but growing number of people in North America (the number is higher in Canada than in the United States) who think that the black currant has been unfairly neglected. The black currant shrub’s hardiness, immunity to disease, and ability to produce great crops with little or no attention are hard to match. Given suitable growing conditions, the shrubs grow and produce fruit with more vigor than either gooseberry or red currant bushes. Black currant bushes are also beautiful, with their curved branches dipping down to the ground. In early summer, they are crammed with clusters of small greenish-white flowers and then with clusters of ripe black berries.

So why doesn’t everyone have a black currant bush in his or her fruit garden? The charges are as follows: black currants are host to white-pine blister rust, black currants have an undesirable flavor, black currants are not worth growing.

Let’s take a look at those accusations. Yes, black currants do carry white-pine blister rust, but so do other members of the Ribes group (gooseberries and red currants). This fact has not prevented garden writers from promoting gooseberries and red currants, however, and as a result, those fruits are enjoying a modest comeback in the trade. On the other hand, the black currant suffers from bad publicity, often being singled out as the sole culprit of white-pine blister rust, without any further explanation. Therefore I think the following account is in order.

White-pine blister rust was inadvertently brought to North America around the turn of the century, the same time that the white pine was enjoying considerable commercial popularity. In the first stage of its development, the fungus lives on the Ribes species, and it does little harm. But in the second stage, it lives inside the stem of the white pine, causing severe damage or death to the tree. By 1918, millions of acres of pine forests were infected by the fungus. At that time, the United States government took steps to prohibit the growth and sale of currants and gooseberries. Eventually, the white pine’s commercial value declined, and in 1968 the government revoked the quarantine and eased the restrictions against Ribes species. Each state then set up its own regulations.

By contrast, Canada, according to some horticulturists, has had a more enlightened policy toward Ribes. Though there is no shortage of white pines in Canada, there are no restrictions against currants and gooseberries. Instead, authorities have worked to combat the problem through breeding programs. Perhaps this attitude stems in part from the fact that there is a stronger British tradition there. Indeed, the British are avid fans of Ribes, of black currants in particular.

When I was researching the original edition of this book, I decided to investigate state prohibitions against black currants. After all, if Americans were not allowed to grow black currants, what would be the use in telling them how wonderful they are? I

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