red currant jam

It’s red currant season! So what do you do when you spot a bunch of bright ruby red currants at the farmer’s market? Buy them, of course.

Red currants are those special fruits that look like a poisonous berry but are completely edible and actually very delicious. The only problem with red currants is that they don’t stay fresh for very long and their harvest is particularly short (only running from mid-May to early June). So a great way to extend the shelf-life of these little diamonds in the rough is to make them into jam!

We’re jammin’

We are definitely a jam household. We always have a jar of fruit preserves in our fridge, and toasted bread with jam is a very common breakfast option for both of us. Maybe it’s because Greg is French and that’s a common breakfast item in French cuisine, but now that I think of it, we always had multiple jams in the fridge or pantry when I was growing up, so maybe it’s just an us thing. But also, who doesn’t love sweet fruit made even sweeter with sugar and then spread all over carby bread. LOL.

Anyway, I buy so much bread that I figured I should start making my own jam once in a while. And when I saw these bright red, juicy currants at the farmer’s market, I knew I needed to scoop up a bunch and make some currant jam out of them.

What are currants?

Currants are actually shrubs, and I’m not kidding, they look exactly like those bright red berries you’d see in the woods and your mom was like “DON’T EAT THOSE, THEY’RE POISONOUS!” While your mom was definitely right and you should never pop a handful of strange woodland berries into your mouth, if you find currants at a store or market, you don’t have to worry about going out Snow White style. They’re totally edible, and delicious when eaten right off the plant, sweet with a bit of mouth-puckering tartness.

Fresh currants are great on their own, but they’re often used in desserts like pies, fruit salads, and compotes. When making the jam, I actually froze my currants first, as they’re much easier to remove from the stems once frozen. Otherwise it can be a bit tedious, but the hassle is definitely worth the result.

Do I need anything other than currants and sugar?

Nope! Just a bit of water for simmering the currants.

While you can make this jam with both red currants and black currants (which are slightly less sweet and pair great with a savory dish like duck or on a burger), I used the red variety which are bright like rubies.

Smear the final product across a slice of fresh bread or mix it into your morning oatmeal. I loved making this delicious jam, and I hope you’ll like jammin’ too.

⟶ the recipe

red currant jam

ingredients

2-2 ½ cups (or ~1 pound) fresh red currants, stemmed

1 cup sugar

¼ cup water

Prep time

5 minutes

Cook time

5 minutes

Total time

10 minutes

1/2 pint jar

instructions

Add currants and water to a medium saucepan, and bring to a simmer. Add sugar to the pot and stir until completely dissolved.

Gently crush the currants with the back of a large spoon or a potato masher. Simmer the mixture for about five minutes or until currants have broken apart and the jam begins to set.

Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes before transferring the jam to a jar. Refrigerate for at least an hour, or until jam has completely cooled.

⟶ recipe notes

Use whatever amount of currants you have on hand, but for the best level of sweetness, I would use a 1:2 ratio of sugar and fruit. Of course, you can adjust the sugar based on your preference for sweetness
To test the texture of the jam, you can spoon a bit of it onto a cold plate and place it in the freezer for a couple minutes. Once the jam has cooled, you’ll be able to see its finished texture (add a bit more water to the jam and simmer for longer if it has become too thick)