Yet another - new and improved black currant

[PLUMPUDDING]

Last year we had Ebony - advertised as being much sweeter than ordinary black currants, with large sweet berries OK to eat straight from the bush.

Now this year's is the Four Berry - a large sweet black currant, but they don't tell you that, they obviously don't want to put people off who don't like black currants.

I've grown an Ebony and it was a bit sweeter than the ones I've grown for ages and forgotten the name of, but not much, and it didn't have much larger fruit either.

Do you think the Four Berry will be any better?

Did you see the programme about currants - another cookery programme.

Does anyone grow and use white currants. I've never grown any, but would give them a try if you could suggest a nice sweet variety, or do they all have the currant tang? I've got two red-currant bushes that produced about 26 lb of fruit between them this year and there is only so much you can do with them without mass producing jam, jelly and wine.

[Primrose]

Yes I did see the programme about blackcurrants & cookery and if the new Four Berry variety gets good reviews I might try and find the space to grow one. I think the problem with growing them, for anybody who's not interested in cooking, is knowing how to eat them because they can be a bit sharp and overpowering to eat on their own as you would a blueberry, which I've not been successful in growing.

I use the fruit from my single bush for making up mixed fruit compotes (with raspberries, blackberries and redcurrants) and also for making mixed fruit syrups which you can either use in desserts, or for making "hot syrup toddies" with a slice of lemon, which can be a comforting drink, rather like Ribena, in winter. My 2 redcurrant bushes are far more prolific than the blackcurrants as far as fruit production is concerned.

[Tony Hague]

I have 3 bushes of Ebony, and my total harvest I make into sorbet, the high acidity makes them perfect for it.

Eating them fresh I find rather unrewarding; a lot of the colour and flavour is locked up in the skin.

[glallotments]

We use our redcurrants mixed with other fruit in summer fruit desserts like summer pudding, we make them into compotes and freeze (less sugar needed than for jams and jellies). The compote is used with plain yoghurt (to make our own fruit yoghurts) or porridge. We use both them and whitecurrants in mixed fruit salad and I've also used redcurrants to make a redcurrant cheesecake and in a mixed fruit tart. I'm sure they would go well in home-made ice cream. I've also seen a recipe for redcurrant relish to have with lamb but haven't tried it. You can also use them like blueberries in muffins. Just Google redcurrant recipes and you will be amazed at how many suggestions come up.

We had to cut down our whitecurrant bush and have grown more from cuttings but since we inherited the bush I don't know what variety it was. The cuttings haven't yet fruited and I'm afraid I just can't remember what they tasted of exactly but we liked the fruit and the birds leave the white currants alone whereas we have to net the red ones as the birds love them.

[PLUMPUDDING]

Thanks for your replies. I suppose I'll either have to get a Four Berry and try it, or wait for comments from other people who've tried it next year.

I do make cordials and a very grown up black currant ice cream from a Sarah Raven recipe which are great, but still have a hankering to grow a white currant. I'll have to do a bit more research before deciding which variety, so any recommendations would be welcome.

[haggis]

Just to tag on to the end of this thread - has anyone tried a pink (rose?) currant. I am sure I saw something like that advertised in a catalogue last year. Sort of a cross between a white currant and a red currant.

[glallotments]

I saw that advertised too and was interested!

[PLUMPUDDING]

After reading your comments and having a look through some of my gardening books I've decided to order two White currants - White Grape - supposedly the sweetest flavoured, though not as productive as the other one, White Versailles, which is supposed to be a very good all-rounder.

I thought I'd try something different rather than an "improved" version of the black currants I already have.

Red currants make one of my favourite fruit wines and I read that white currants make a good white wine so I'm looking forward to trying that when the new plants get into full production.

I'll report back on their flavour etc. next year.

[PLUMPUDDING]

To my amazement my new White currant bushes arrived yesterday from Chris Bowers. It said up to 30 days delivery, so I've not even had time to decide where I'm putting them.

They are nice strong plants with a good branch structure and not weedy little whips like you sometimes get, so I'm very pleased. Better decide where they are going now - they are in a bucket of moist compost at the moment.