Red & white currant, ribes rubrum

Red currant

The fruit is eaten 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.

A yellow dye is obtained from the leaves. A black dye is obtained from the fruit.

The fruit is used cosmetically in face-masks for firming up tired and lifeless skin.  

White currant

Similar to the redcurrant, but slightly less acidic. It is a cultivar of the red currnt, meaning the only difference is the colour of the berries.