General info about Fruit
The Redcurrant (Ribes rubrum) is a member of the genus Ribes in the gooseberry family Grossulariaceae, native to parts of western Europe (France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, and northern Italy). It is a deciduous shrub normally growing to 1-1.5 m tall, occasionally 2 m, with five-lobed leaves arranged spirally on the stems. The flowers are inconspicuous yellow-green, in pendulous 4-8 cm racemes, maturing into bright red translucent edible berries about 8-12 mm diameter, with 3-10 berries on each raceme.
According to the "Orbis Naturführer" (Orbis Verlag, Munich, 2000), while Ribes rubrum and R. nigrum are native to northern and eastern Europe, large berried cultivars of the redcurrant were first produced in Belgium and northern France in the 1600s. In modern times, numerous cultivars have been selected; some of these have escaped gardens and can be found in the wild across Europe and extending into Asia.
Ways to prepare and serve the Fruit
Edible Uses
Edible Parts: Fruit.
Fruit - raw or cooked. A pleasant acid flavour, it can be eaten out of hand but is more often cooked in pies, jams etc. There are rather a lot of seeds in each fruit.
Health Benefits and Warnings of eating Fruit
Medicinal Uses
Antirheumatic; Antiscorbutic; Aperient; Poultice; Refrigerant; Sialagogue.
The fruit is antiscorbutic, aperient, depurative, digestive, diuretic, laxative, refrigerant and sialagogue. The leaves contain the toxin hydrogen cyanide. A concoction of them is used externally to relieve rheumatic symptoms. They are also used in poultices to relieve sprains or reduce the pain of dislocations.
Other Uses
Cosmetic; Dye.
A yellow dye is obtained from the leaves[100]. A black dye is obtained from the fruit. The fruit is used cosmetically in face-masks for firming up tired and lifeless skin.
Classification
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Saxifragales
Family: Grossulariaceae
Genus: Ribes
Species: R. rubrum
Binomial name
Ribes rubrum
Recipes made mainly with this Fruit
Redcurrant fruit is slighty more sour than its relative the blackcurrant, and is cultivated mainly for jams and cooked dishes, rather than for eating raw. For example, in Scandinavia it is often used in fruit soups and summer puddings, and in Germany it is also used in combination with custard or meringue as a filling for tarts.
Although blackcurrant is more traditionally associated with medicinal uses, English and German language herbalist sources consider redcurrant berries to have fever-reducing, sweat-inducing, menstrual-flow inducing, mildly laxative, astringent, appetite increasing, blood cleansing, diuretic and digestive properties. Some of these proposed effects are probable, due to the verified high levels of vitamin C, fruit acids, and fiber the berries contain. Tea made from dried redcurrant leaves is said to ease the symptoms of gout and rheumatism, be useful in compresses for poorly healing wounds, and as a gargling solution for mouth infections