Red Currant Cordial Recipe - How to make Syrup [no cooking!] (2024)

FAQs

What jelly is closest to red currant? ›

Raspberry jelly is a great substitute for red currant jelly. It has a similar tartness and sweetness that can complement a wide range of dishes. It can be used in the same quantities as red currant jelly in recipes.

What are some good substitutes for currants in recipes? Any dried fruit could work - raisins, dried cranberries (a number of answers recommended craisins, but they're sweetened, and dried cranberries are not), dried blueberries, dried apricots, or dried cherries - all of which are pretty readily available.

Red currants grow in grape-like clusters on small bushes, the fruit has become a rarity in the United States. Mistakenly thought to promote a tree disease, currant bushes across the country were systematically uprooted in the early 1900s, and production was prohibited for many years.

Redcurrant sauce, also known as redcurrant jelly, is an English condiment, consisting of redcurrants (Ribes rubrum), sugar and rosemary. Some other recipes include additional ingredients such as red wine, white wine, port, mustard, lemon or orange zest, and very occasionally shallots.

These shiny little berries grow low on bushes, hanging from the branches like rows of miniature gems. Their flavour is a little tart but they're still sweet enough to be eaten raw, so long as they're sprinkled with plenty of sugar.

In 1911, the federal government banned the cultivation, sale, and transport of blackcurrants to protect the white pine. Government programs systematically destroyed blackcurrant plants by chemical spraying. The federal ban was lifted in 1966, though many states maintained their own bans.

Edibility and Nutritional Value of Red Currant, Ribes rubrum

The berries are edible. They are sweet, being a good source of glucose, fructose and sucrose but also rather tart.

Uses: Redcurrant jelly is traditionally served with roast lamb or venison. A tablespoonful of jelly also adds a delicious flavour to lamb or venison casseroles.

The chef spooned some strawberry jam into the mix, saying “The little secret ingredient that I love is just some beautiful jam. That little sweetness really helps the gravy sing.”

Can you substitute grape jelly for currant jelly? ›

Substitutes for Currant Jelly

If you have a recipe that calls for currant jelly as an ingredient and you don't have any homemade currant jelly and you can't find it in stores, try substituting apple jelly or grape jelly. They don't have the same flavor (or color) but do have the same texture and bring a fruity flavor.

Cloudberries. Flavor: Cloudberries are very juicy, and they taste a bit like a cross between a raspberry and a red currant.

A major difference between red and black currants is the taste. According to Fine Cooking, black currants are the sweetest type of currant, "red currants are bracingly tart and a bit sweet, like a sugar-kissed cranberry," and white currants fall somewhere in the middle.

Redcurrant fruits are known for their tart flavor, a characteristic provided by a relatively high content of organic acids and mixed polyphenols. As many as 65 different phenolic compounds may contribute to the astringent properties of redcurrants, with these contents increasing during the last month of ripening.

Red currants are in the gooseberry family. Cranberries are not. So the two are not closely related, and the chance of shared allergy is low.