Copius
White currant, drawn for Copius

White currant

Groseille blanche

Latin nameRibes rubrum
FamilyFruits
OriginWestern Europe
Season (France)June – August
FlavourSour · Fresh · Fruity · Delicate
Typical price (France)15–25 €/kg

What it is

The same species as the redcurrant, minus the pigment: a cultivar that never makes the anthocyanin, so the berry stays translucent and you can count its seeds through the skin. Bar-le-Duc has seeded white currants as well as red with a goose quill since the recipe was first recorded in 1344 — the jam the town calls its caviar.

In the kitchen

Sweeter and less sharp than the red, with a thinner skin that bruises: keep them on the strig until the last minute. They set a jelly just as readily, and a paler one.

Goes with

Cream Vanilla Honey Raspberry Elderflower Almond Lemon White chocolate

Same species

Blackcurrant Blackcurrant buds Blackcurrant leaf Crème de cassis de Dijon Gooseberry Redcurrant

In season alongside

Green almond Wild bilberry Rhubarb Watermelon Bergeron apricot Lingonberry

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