- REDCURRANT __ Ribes Rubrum
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Order: Saxifragales
Family: Grossularia
Genus: Ribes
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Origin: W. Europe
Vitamins: B1, C
Minerals: Fe, P, K, Mn
The currant is the only wild berry that fits in the botanical definiton of berry.
The redcurrant is a deciduous bush of 1 to 1,5 meters height, not thorny, of young lames ussually reddish. The leaves are palmed, 10 cm width, with almost no hair, 3 or 5 hardenned lobed, rounded in base. The flowers, yellow-greenish, are groupped in pendulous racemes of 3 to 6 cm. Blossoms in Spring.
The fruits are real berries of a bright red translucent color, around 10 mm of diameter, groupped in racemes of 3 to 10 berries.
They are rich in vitamins B1, C and iron, phosphorus, potassium, copper, manganese and fibre.
Water 90%.
Of tart flavour, it is much more usual for cooked preparations, specially in bakery, and preserves (marmalades, jams) than served raw.
The whitecurrant is an albino cultivar of the same bush. [See]