A small intensely-flavored European berry that's a household staple in Britain and Eastern Europe but virtually unknown in the US — banned for decades to protect the timber industry.
Banned in America for most of a century
Blackcurrants are largely unknown to Americans because they were federally banned from cultivation in 1911. The reason: blackcurrants host Cronartium ribicola, a fungus that causes white pine blister rust, which threatened the lucrative US timber industry.
The federal ban was lifted in 1966, but most states maintained their own bans for decades. New York didn’t legalize commercial blackcurrant farming until 2003. The result: a fruit utterly familiar to British and European children is essentially unknown to American ones.
The Ribena phenomenon
In the UK, Ribena — a thick blackcurrant cordial — is a national institution. Originally developed during WWII when imported citrus fruits were unavailable and rich-vitamin-C blackcurrants were promoted as a substitute, Ribena became standard in school lunchboxes and sick-day comfort drinks.
The brand single-handedly shaped what “blackcurrant flavor” tastes like to British palates — a slightly artificial intense fruit-syrup note that Americans associate with grape soda.
Crème de Cassis and kir
In France, blackcurrants are processed into Crème de Cassis — a dark sweet liqueur from the Burgundy region. Mixed with white wine, it makes a kir; with champagne, kir royale. This is a fixture of French aperitif culture.
A vitamin C powerhouse
Blackcurrants contain about 3x the vitamin C of oranges by weight — historically important during scurvy seasons in northern Europe, and the basis of Ribena’s wartime success. Modern research has also turned up significant anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.