Ingredient · Ingredients
Currant
Printed from https://gourmetgastronomer.com/ingredients/currant/
A small, high-acid berry that, if not overripe, Ohio State treats as able to gel with sugar alone — red currant is a Group II fruit in U.S. jam identity.
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Currant is a tiny, seedy berry with more acid than sweetness. Ohio State places currants in Group I: if not overripe, enough natural pectin and acid to gel with added sugar only 1. That is jelly country. See Jelly, Pectin, and Acidity.
Jam identity. 21 CFR 150.160 lists red currant, and currant other than black currant, in Group II 2. Black currant is not named in that standard, so its identity requires separate evidence. Gooseberry is the other Ohio Group I berry on that chart.
What to notice. Snap of skin, sharp sour, many seeds. A dull, soft currant is past the Group I promise. Do not invent a water-bath time.
At a glance
- Also called
- currants, red currant
Ingredient
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Sources & further exploration
Cited in this article
- Jams, Jellies, and Other Fruit Spreads (HYG-5350) — Treva Williams. Ohio State University Extension. 2015 — Culinary definitions of jam, jelly, preserves, marmalade; pectin/acid/sugar roles; sheet, temperature, and plate tests for doneness. Cites USDA Complete Guide and NCHFP.
- 21 CFR § 150.160 — Fruit preserves and jams — U.S. Food and Drug Administration (text via Cornell LII) — U.S. standard of identity. Group I fruit-to-sugar 47:55; other cases 45:55; finished soluble solids not less than 65 percent. Kitchen usage and this labeling standard are not the same thing.
Updated 2026-08-26. gg:ingredient:currant · CC BY 4.0
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Gourmet Gastronomer. "Currant." Gourmet Gastronomer. Updated August 26, 2026. https://gourmetgastronomer.com/ingredients/currant/.
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Gourmet Gastronomer. (2026, August 26). Currant. https://gourmetgastronomer.com/ingredients/currant/
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