blackcurrant

In addition to the high levels of vitamin C, studies have also shown concentrated blackcurrant to be an effective Monoamine oxidase inhibitor (Bormann, et al. Blackcurrant seed oil is a rich source of gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), a very rare essential fatty acid.

In Russia it is common to infuse slightly sweetened vodka with blackcurrant leaves, making a deep yellowish-green beverage with a sharp flavor and an astringent taste . In the UK blackcurrant juice is often mixed with Strongbow Cider to make a drink called Cider Black.

Blackcurrants have a very sweet and sharp taste. In the UK, Europe and Commonwealth countries, some types of confectionery include a blackcurrant flavor, but this is generally missing in the United States, even within the same brand. Instead grape flavor in candy (including grape jelly) almost mirrors the use of blackcurrant in both its ubiquity in the USA, and its rarity on the eastern side of the Atlantic. Since blackcurrant berries are a rich source of vitamin C and blackcurrant plants are suitable for growing in the UK climate, blackcurrant cultivation was encouraged by the British government. From 1942 on almost the entire British blackcurrant crop was made into blackcurrant syrup (or cordial) and distributed to the nation's children free, giving rise to the lasting popularity of blackcurrant flavorings in Britain.

Blackcurrants were once popular in the United States as well, but they became extremely rare in the 20th Century after currant farming was banned in the early 1900s.

Blackcurrant cordials

In UK bars, blackcurrant cordials are referred to simply as "black", as in "vodka and black", "snakebite and black", "Pernod and black", or "black and lemonade". In North America, blackcurrant cordial is more commonly known as crème de cassis whilst in Britain and France crème de cassis is an alcoholic blackcurrant liqueur, used for making the popular apéritif Kir;

In Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, a blackcurrant cordial under the brand name of Ribena (from the genus name) is principally marketed as a 'healthy' (if extremely sweet) drink for children.

Cooking

Other than being juiced and used in jellies, syrups, and cordials, blackcurrants are much prised in cooking because their astringent nature brings out the flavor in many sauces and meat dishes and their complex flavor lends them to wonderful desserts.