Blackcurrant leaf

Feuille de cassis

What it is

The leaf smells of blackcurrant with none of the fruit's sugar or colour — green, sappy, faintly catty, from the same thiol family that makes Sauvignon Blanc smell of blackcurrant bud. It is at its most aromatic before the fruit sets, which is precisely when nobody is paying the bush any attention.

In the kitchen

Infuse hot but never boil: two minutes off the heat in syrup or cream is enough, and a hard boil turns the aroma into cooked spinach. Ten leaves to a litre, then strain and chill straight away.

Goes with

Blackcurrant Raspberry Strawberry Honey Verjuice Gooseberry

Same species

Blackcurrant Blackcurrant buds Crème de cassis de Dijon Gooseberry Redcurrant White currant

In season alongside

Ashitaba Bell pepper Chile piquín Garlic chives Ground elder Rhubarb

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