Blackcurrants and redcurrants

Ribes nigrum and ribes rubrum

Blackcurrants – Ribes nigrum

Redcurrants – Ribes rubrum

Currants are a medium-sized fruiting shrub. Blackcurrants are found in central and northern Europe and northern Asia, while ribes rubrum redcurrants originate in western Europe; both types are cultivated for their fruit.

The indigenous Alaskan redcurrant, ribes triste, is native to Canada, the northern United States, and northeastern Asia. Ribes triste is found from Southeast Alaska to the northern Alaska Peninsula, and north to the Brooks Range.

For preserves, it is recommended to harvest currants when plump but before they are fully ripe, because they are higher in pectin. When fully ripe, they can be eaten fresh and used in baking. Currants are commonly used in pies, cakes, cobblers, and to make jellies and syrups.

Ribes triste is used by Dena’ina Athabascans medicinally to treat colds and flus.

The leaves can be used to make tea, but wilted leaves should not be consumed, as they can become somewhat toxic.

Works Cited
Schofield, Janice J. Alaska’s Wild Plants: A Guide to Alaska’s Edible Harvest (Alaska Northwest Books: Seattle, WA), 1997. 39.
Wikipedia: Blackcurrant, Redcurrant, Ribes triste

Image Credits
Images have been cropped and resized

Blackcurrants
Ripe berries
🅭2005 Saxo, public domain
Unripe berries
🅭2010 H. Zell, CC BY-SA 3.0
Flower in bloom
🅭2019 Salicyna, CC BY-SA 4.0
Foliage
🅭2021 Salicyna, CC BY-SA 4.0

Redcurrants
Ripe berries
🅭2021 Zeke Marshall, CC0 1.0 (public domain)
Flowers in bloom
🅭2022 bemma, CC BY-SA 4.0
Leaves and twigs with ripe berries
🅭2021 T. Pedro Hafermann, CC0 1.0 (public domain)