Red Currants
NATURALLY SWEET AND TART
Dave's fresh red currants are tart and sweet, a tantalizing combination. The brilliant, round, translucent red berries are sweet enough to be eaten raw. Pop some into your mouth and the juicy, tangy-sweet goodness explodes on your tongue. The complex sweet-tart flavor has intriguing notes of citrus and a subtle musky undertone.
Because red currants are native to Western Europe, the people there have a longer tradition of using these delightfully healthful berries. Widely used to make jams and jellies, red currants are also baked into pies, tarts, cookies, and puddings. Mix some delicious red currants in your pancake batter and watch your family's expressions of delight. Tossed into fruit salads or fresh green salads, red currants add pleasing notes of color, contrasting texture, and an accent of tangy-sweet. The flavor of red currants pairs especially well with almonds, cherries, raspberries, pears, apples, and cream.
Red currants are often used with savory dishes. The fruit nicely complements lamb, pork, and venison. You can easily make your own jam by boiling the red currants with some sugar. Serve the jam as a condiment with lamb or other roast meat for your Sunday dinner like the Brits do. Add a little hot pepper and you've got a truly unusual sweet-hot relish for your savory dishes.
COOKS SUGGESTION
Red currants make a delicious jam that can be used to sweeten toast, biscuits, sandwiches, pancakes or to highlight savory meats, cold cuts, and poultry. Red currant jelly is frequently used as a glossy topping for fresh fruit tarts, and the berries themselves, cooked or fresh, are an easy filling for an excellent tart. A handful of glistening red currants turn an ordinary salad into something new and exciting.
HOW TO SELECT
Fresh red currants should have a vibrant red color. They should be glossy, plump, round, and firm with no soft spots, discoloration, wrinkles from dehydration, or signs of mold.
HOW TO STORE
Keep red currants in their original Dave's container without rinsing. They can be stored in the refrigerator for five to seven days. Rinse well right before using.
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Red currants are unusually rich in Vitamin C, our first line of defense for good health. With only 63 calories per cup, red currants are a delicious, low-calorie treat packed with necessary dietary fiber and potassium. Best of all, red currants are jammed with antioxidants to fight aging and health deterioration caused by the free radicals generated by our bodies daily.