White Currants

White Currants an albino sport of red currants that occurred naturally .

The berries look translucent off-white or golden, and have a less tart flavour than red ones. Some cultivars are even fine for eating fresh out of hand.

The bushes grow 5 to 6 feet (1 1/2 to 1 3/4 metres) tall, and will produce about 10 to 12 pounds (4 1/2 to 5 1/2 kg) of berries per bush.

The berries grow on one year-old wood, and on new branches coming off older branches.

Cultivars include: Weisse aus Juterbog (1890s), White Imperial (1890 — Geneva, New York), White Versailles (1840), Primus, White Pearl.

Some cultivars, such as White Imperial, may have a pink blush to them.

Cooking Tips

Use a fork to pull them off their stalks.

Storage Hints

White Currants can be frozen whole, and used for jelly or juice.

Literature & Lore

“The wine made from white currants, if rich of fruit, so as to require little sugar, is, when kept to a proper age, of a flavor similar to the Grave and Rhenish wines; and I have known it preferred as a summer table wine.” — Henry Phillips. Pomarium Brittanicum. 1820.